A Brilliant Red
by HoneyFlower15
Summary: Aizen is gone but portal to the Soul Society is closed off and Momo and others are stuck in the human world. Momo has Hitsugaya's baby but he doesn't know it. When trouble starts up again, can the family come together or will they even be allowed to meet?
1. Chapter 1

Colors. All he could see were colors moving all around above him. Sometimes they would move to fast for him to see, other times he could make them out clearly and see what color belonged to whom. He knew what was going on; the battle with Aizen was only just beginning. Ichigo was fighting him now; he could sense both of their powers fighting each other now.

He wanted to get up, to help defeat that bastard that had caused them so much pain but he found that he couldn't. The wound Aizen inflicted on him, as well as the other captains would not kill them, only injury them enough that they wouldn't be able to move. It would keep them on the ground as they watched helplessly as more and more of their comrades fought Aizen.

Only that wasn't what was on his mind right now, his eyes were watching the sky while he searched for her. It was so weak though, he was so weak right now. His body was screaming at him for him to rest and try to save his energy but he couldn't allow himself to do that. He needed to find her. He searched to feel her reiatsu, even if he was injured badly he would still search for her. No matter what, he had to find her. He needed to see how badly she was hurt, how badly he had hurt her.

Finally he found it.

She was only a few feet from him, his head moved in her direction and he saw her. She was lying on the ground, facing him, showing him how pale and fragile she looked now. She was showing him the wound that was in the middle of her chest, the wound that he gave her.

"Momo." He moved his body again, trying desperately to sit up, to get up and move towards her. His body still refused to listen to him, it was in to much pain to sit up and walk towards her. So instead he crawled towards her. He was lying flat on his stomach, using his arms and legs to make his way over to her. With every move his body would scream in pain, more blood would leak out from his wound and left a trail of blood behind.

He ignored it all. The pain, the blood, the dizziness, everything. None of that mattered; all that mattered to him right now was her. He had to go to her, he had to help her, he needed to keep her safe. He…he needed to make sure that she wouldn't die. "Momo," he spoke her name out in a whisper, he was moving closer to her now. He only had to move his body five more times and he would be there.

"Momo,"

_Five_

"Momo, please…"

_Four_

"Don't die,"

_Three_

"You can't leave me…"

_Two_

"I can't lose you…"

_One_

"Momo," he collapsed beside her. His hand, which was now covered by his blood and by hers, grabbed hold of her hand. It was so cold, almost like ice. "You have to stay alive. I don't want to lose you, I can't!" He cried, losing control over himself. For so long he trained himself to keep control so that he wouldn't have to worry about reiatsu leaking out and freezing all things that were around him, but that didn't matter now. He would cry, he would let himself lose control of his powers for a few moments, letting them leaking out and touch everything that was around him.

"Momo…" He called her name, hoping that she would open her eyes and smile at him. Hoping that this was all just some bad dream, and that it was just to two of them again. Livings together with their grandmother, eating watermelons, watching the sunset, just like old time. "Momo…I love you." He whispered out.

"Shiro…chan."

His eyes widened when he heard that name, that nickname that she gave, that name that she only called him. Hitsugaya looked at her through his tears and wanted to laugh when he saw her own pair of eyes staring right back at him. "Momo!" With the last of his strength he pulled her closer to him, arms wrapping around her body, keeping her close to him. He could feel her heartbeat and she could feel his, her warmth, her breath, everything that was Momo Hinamori, her could everything that was her at this moment. The two were slowly becoming one at this time. Their bodies were blending together as they floated away into another world, a world of a frozen land surrounded by millions of peaches and plums.

"Toshiro." She whispered out his name, her own arms wrapping around his body. Her head rested on his chest, breathing him in. "Stay with me."

"Always." He replied, knowing that he would remain by her side no matter what. Nothing would keep him away from her.

Soon enough his body was reacting with hers, moving in time with hers, combining together. Their two spiritual reiatsu were forming together to create one being. They were finally expressing feeling that they kept hidden away from the world, they were expressing themselves to each other in the way only lovers could. In this world of theirs, they were committing the ultimate form of love. They didn't know how long they stayed in that world, all they knew that they stayed the way they were. They stayed together; they stayed in each others arms, together, combining over and over again.

"Captain Hitsugaya!"

And like that their world shattered and they were brought back to reality. Momo was pulled from his grasp and he was turned onto his back. He looked up to see Captain Unohana was looking down at him, using her powers to heal his wounds. "Momo…is she…?"

"She is fine." She replied, never once stopping from what she was doing.

Hearing the words weren't enough for him. He needed to see for himself that Momo truly was ok. Turning his head to the side, he saw that Momo was surrounded in a bright orange light. He saw that Orihime was next to her and using her powers to heal away the wound that he had caused her. Rukia and Renji were there as well, they were keeping away pieces of falling rubble from hitting them.

"Good, I'm glad." Slowly he allowed his eyes to close, letting the healing powers of Unohana to heal his body.

"Orihime! Rukia! Renji! All of you move!"

It was too late now. Hitsugaya's eyes snapped open when he heard the voices of Chad and Uryū calling out to their friends. They ran towards her just as building that was destroyed by some of Aizen's and Ichigo's attacks came crashing down on Orihime and Momo. Crushing them just as Chad and Uryū arrived.

And suddenly Hitsugaya couldn't breathe anymore. "MOMO!" With energy he didn't know he had, he ran over towards the fallen building, pulling away at the pieces of it. His hands were red by now, blood was gushing out of them but he did not care. He ignored all of this and continued to pull away the pieces of building, trying desperately to get to Momo.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Unohana came from behind him, pulling him away from the fallen building.

"Let me go!" He cried, thrashing in her arms like a little kid that was fighting his parents because didn't want to go to bed. "Get you hands of me!" He cried again, kicking and screaming for her to let him go. "No stop! I have to help! I have to save Momo!" He pleaded as tears began to fall from his eyes. Unohana only continued to pull him away from the sight.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do." The words ran in his ears. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't save Momo; he broke his vow that he made when he first met her. His vow to always protect her, to keep her safe, to keep her alive and happy was just broken.

"No…it can't be…it just can't!" He cried into the sky, his powers going out of control making the sky become dark as the clouds opened up to let hail, rain, and snow fall to the ground.

Suddenly he looked up into the sky and saw him, the man that was responsible for all of this. "Aizen!" His Bankai was out as he flew up towards the man that he hated with every fiber of his being. He would kill him; he would kill him for betraying all of them for his crimes, for hurting his friends. But most of all, he would kill him for killing Hinamori.

With a loud cry, he slashed through Aizen's attacks at him and in one swift move cut off his arm from his shoulder. Turning his body around in one quick circle he was on the other side of Aizen and cut off his other arm as well. The man could no longer hold his sword, his attacks and strength had just been depleted down to almost nothing.

Before he could make the final strike, he was stopped when he saw Aizen's body begin to glow a dark yellow.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo's voiced echoed around him. "Get away from there!" Before he could react, beams of yellow shot out from where he cut off the man's two arms and hit Hitsugaya in the chest, sending him flying down to the ground and knocking him out cold.

* * *

"So now what are we supposed to do?" He heard it; a voice was speaking around him.

"All we can do now is return home and try to fix what is broken" Another voice was heard, he knew these voices.

"What about the others?" This voice was familiar too.

"There is nothing more we can do for them?" This last one was more feminine but it too was familiar.

"So that's it? We're just supposed to give up on them?" He opened his eyes and saw a blur of orange standing before him.

"I am sorry, but the damage is already done." Hitsugaya groaned when he heard them all speaking, he knew who they were now. Unohana was the one talking at this point.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo ran over to him, helping him sit up and lean against a large piece of rubble.

"What happened?" He asked, looking all around him and was surprised when he saw everyone looking relived and the sky that was once so dark was now a peaceful blue.

"We won." Ichigo told him. "I got to admit that what you did before was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever seen anyone do, but it's only because of that that I was able to take down Aizen before anyone else got hurt." He said his voice dropping as he spoke.

"I see." He was glad that it was over, they had won the war and their two worlds were finally safe again, so why did he still feel so horrible. That's when he remembered what happened before he was knocked out. "Hinamori! Where's Hinamori?" He question, his eyes darting all over the place. Searching for her figure, her eyes that were probably filled with tears from worry by this point for him. "Momo? Is she…?"

Suddenly things that very quite and everyone looked away from him. None of them wanted to tell him the truth. "She as well as Orihime and the others could not be saved," It was Ukitake that delivered this news to him. "They were all crushed by the rubble. There was no way for them to have survived the impact." His eyes were on the ground as he spoke.

His world came crashing down once again, his head lowered to his lap as he stared at his hands. They were bandaged now but he couldn't feel the pain that he should be feeling. He couldn't feel anything. "I see." Tears fell from his eyes as he silently cried for Momo, his best friend, his trusted companion, his love.

"So now what?" Ichigo asked once again, no one knew what they should do. The war was over, but they had lost so much because of it.

"We go home." Shunsui Kyōraku said, his arms crossed and bandaged from his own fight. "We fix what has been broken by Aizen and try to start our lives over again." He added walking over to Hitsugaya and forced him to stand. "That includes you too. I know you're in pain right now, but you can't let it get to you. If you don't move on, then the girl's spirit will never be able to be at peace." He spoke in a soft tone, keeping Hitsugaya up with his arms.

Tears were still in his eyes but they were no longer falling. "Alright." He replied quietly, he didn't care if others thought he was weak right now, Momo was worth his tears and he would cry for her.

"Well it looks like everyone's doing fine." They turned their attention to Urahara and Yoruichi. They both seemed tried and exhausted but they also seemed relieved that the battle was over. "It's unfortunate to say that it's a little too early for us to be celebrating."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, he and everyone else were wondering what Urahara meant by it was too early to celebrate. They won the war and beat Aizen. Why shouldn't they celebrate?

"Look up. You'll see what we mean." Yoruichi said, pointing towards the sky. They all looked up and gasped at what they saw floating in the sky above them.

"It's the Soul Society!" Ichigo yelled in pure shock. The entire Soul Society was reflecting above them in the sky, showing everyone that it was there.

"Yes, it seems that Aizen's powers opened up the portal between this world and that world so much that the portal broke. So now everyone can see it." He said, fixing his hat and cane. "Well sort of. Right now, only those who are in fake Karakura town can see it."

"Then what's the problem? If only we can see it, then everything should be fine. Just fix the portal." Ichigo said as if it was simplest thing in the world to do.

Yoruichi only sighed and shook her head. "Even after all of this, you're still a young and naive little boy Ichigo."

"Hey! I am not!" He yelled.

"It's not as simple as you think Ichigo." Urahara stated, banging his cane down on the ground. "Once we take down this fake town then everyone in the world will be able to see the Soul Society, "He told them all of what will happen. "Not only that, but if the two worlds stay open like that then they will combine together to the point where Soul Reapers and Hollows will be walking down the street along with every human in the world. It'll be complete and utter chaos." He had his fan in front of his face, eyes and voice sounding serious.

"We need to close the portal before we can take down this fake town." Yoruichi said to them, hand son her hips.

"And then what?" Ukitake asked them, he had a feeling there was more to their story.

Urahara took a moment before continuing. "If we close to portal now, we won't be able to open it up ever again."

All stood there shocked by his words. Once the portal was closed, they wouldn't be able to open it ever again! That can't be possible.

"What are you talking about!" Ichigo didn't understand what Urahara was talking about. "What do you mean we won't be able to open the portal again?"

Urahara only sighed. "Exactly what I said. We will never be able to open the portal again, at least not without causing some sort of damage to both worlds." He removed his fan from his fan and stared at all who were in front of him. "Neither Soul Reapers nor Hollows will be able to step into the world of the living, nor will we ever be able to go into the Soul Society."

"Forever?" Hitsugaya asked, curious about what was happening. This whole event sounded so strange to him.

"Possibly." Urahara said, fixing his hat again. "Not unless some new soul comes along with amazing spiritual powers that is strong enough to open the portal without disturbing the balance of the two worlds."

"Until that happens, Ichigo and the rest of us will deal with whatever Hollows that may remain in this world while the rest of you deal with the ones in your world." Yoruichi told them, looking back up towards the sky. "We might want to hurry. I doubt this fake town will last much longer and if it breaks then it'll be too late to close the portal."

"Wait!" Hitsugaya broke away from Kyōraku's grip and stood on his own. "Hinamori. Let me find her. Please, I need to find her so I can bring her back and give a proper burial." He begged them, he hated saying those words. They hurt him to much too even say them, but he they were true. He wanted to bring her back, even if it was her corpse and bury her with their deceased grandmother. It was something they had talked about a long time ago, back when they first became Soul Reapers.

Urahara looked at the sky and then at Hitsugaya. "I'm sorry." He shook his head and gave a solemn bow of his head. "I can't let you, there isn't enough time."

Toshiro froze at his words. They wouldn't let him find Hinamori because there wasn't enough time. "Fine then. If I can't bring her with me, then I'm staying here."

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Ukitake looked shocked and outraged by what heard. "You're duty to your squad and the Soul Society is needed now more then ever. I understand that you're upset, but you can't just…"

"What do you know?" Hitsugaya yelled at them, baking away. "The only reason why I joined and became a captain was for Momo, and now she's gone…" His voice began to break as he spoke but he got it back under control. "What's the point in staying as a captain if I can't…!"

Before he could finish, Unohana knocked him out, sending him into a peaceful slumber. "Rest now and save your energy. You can release all your anger later when you recover from your injuries." She whispered to the sleeping boy.

"I guess we outta get going now." Kyōraku said, motioning for everyone to follow him. All captains and lieutenant that could walk helped those who couldn't and moved forwards with Captain Kyōraku.

"We will have no more contact with the Soul Society after this." Urahara said to Ukitake.

"The same for us as well." He agreed before turning his attention to Ichigo. He saw that his eyes were on the sleeping Hitsugaya. He was being carried by a tried looking Kyōraku. "Do not worry about Captain Hitsugaya. It'll take him some time but he will recover for this." The words "I hope" were in the air.

"I sure hope so." Ichigo sighed as he watched all the people he had come to known and thought of as friends and comrades all come together in one big circle and go up towards their home, a place where he'll never be able to visit again.

"It's time." Urahara said once everyone was through the portal. He, Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Isshin, who had been off to the side giving them their privacy, all concentrated their power. Suddenly Urahara started to speak an incantation that no one but he could understand. A ball of bright green formed between the four and shot up towards the sky, hitting the portal of the Soul Society and closing off the portal permanently.

"It's done." Urahara said, sitting down on one of the fallen pieces of fallen building. "Man, am I ever tried." He started to fan himself, to cool his body down from everything that happened.

Yoruichi agreed with him. "Yeah, that was really…"

They stopped when they heard the rubble near them start to move. They assumed it was one of Aizen's pawns that they had missed and got into position to attack when they were almost blown away by a burst of spirit energy and arrows.

"Man that was a close one." Uryu stepped out from the rubble, trying to get some of the dirt off his clothes.

"Yeah." Chad agreed stretching his arms.

"Good thing Orihime put up her shield." Uryu said just as she popped out with a worn out looking Renji, carrying an unconscious Momo and Rukia standing beside him.

"Renji helped too. Blocking away the rubble that still wanted to fall on us." Chas added, giving thumbs up to the worn out looking red head.

"Yeah whatever." Renji didn't care about anything at this point. All he wanted to do was make sure that his friends were ok and take a long nap. He felt so tried that he would probably sleep for the rest of the day, heck if he could he's probably sleep for three.

Uryu looked at everyone that was with him under the rubble, making sure they were still breathing before turning his attention to the familiar reiatsu. "It's good to see that you're alive and well Ichigo." He turned around to face his classmate while fixing his glasses.

Ichigo had a look of shock and disbelief on his face; he turned to Urahara that was wearing the same look. "Hmm…we might have a problem here." Urahara said, still fanning himself.

Ichigo was pissed off at him at this point. "Of course it's a problem!" He kicked him in the head.

"Ichigo that was mean. You didn't have to kick me in the head." Urahara cried, tears soaking his fan as he held his injured head.

"Shut up." Ichigo knew that the man was only faking it.

* * *

The fake Kurakara slowly began to disappear so they all decided to go to Ichigo's house where his father could treat them all. It was also the safest place to explain everything that happened. Urahara had carefully explained to them all how after Aizen's defeat the portal between the two worlds was too unstable to they sealed it off permanently. It wasn't shocking to say that the others weren't too happy about it.

"What do you mean we can't return home!" Renji grabbed Urahara by his jacket and began to shake him. "We're stuck in this world all because you just assumed we were dead and didn't bother searching for our reiatsu or bodies to prove it?" He asked in a deadly tone.

Urahara only gave a weak laugh. "Well in all honesty, there wasn't enough time for all of that so we just sealed off the portal." He said, hiding his face behind the fan, just incase Renji decided to hit him like Ichigo had.

"Well open it back up again!" He yelled, ready to hit him across the face.

"It's not that simple." Yoruichi said, back in cat form and walked over to Hinamori. "We can no longer open the portal again. At least not without causing damage to the two worlds." Yoruichi stopped in front of Hinamori and gave a quick sniff to her. "Besides we have more important things to think about now."

"And that would be?" Rukia asked. She and Momo were wearing some of Yuzu's dressing while Renji was wearing an old green shirt and black pants that Ichigo's dad let him borrow.

Yoruichi gave Hinamori another sniff before looking up at her. "Momo, you're pregnant."

A moment of dead silenced passed before everyone screamed in complete shock. Chad, Orihime, and Uryu all jumped at the words, looking at Momo in complete shock. Renji and Ichigo fell over form shock, and Yuzu, Karin, and Rukia were all blushing at the though of knowing their friend was pregnant. Ichigo's father was crying tears of joy, saying although she was young she was going through a special time and Urahara was just sitting there next to Yoruichi wearing a creepy smile.

"You sure know how to change the subject Yoruichi." He said, staring at the cat and then at everyone in the room. They were all still in shock mode.

Momo thought over what Yoruichi had told her, her body had frozen over and her cheeks were burning. A hand came over her stomach and she closed her eyes, in a moment she was able to sense the faint feeling of another reiatsu that was growing inside her. It was true, she was pregnant.

"Momo, how'd you even get pregnant? Who's the father? How did any of this happen?" Renji finally got over the shock, somewhat, and began asking question after question to his old friend.

"Leave her alone!" Rukia smacked him on the head. "Can't you see that she's still in shock about finding out?" She yelled at her childhood friend.

"Um…excuse me?" Orihime scooted closer to Momo. "Is it true? Are you really pregnant?" She asked, maybe Yoruichi was wrong and only thought she was. Maybe it was just a mistake or something.

Momo took a moment before answering. "I am." She placed both hands over her stomach. "It's faint but I can feel it. A different reiatsu that's not mine is growing inside of me right now."

"Momo, who's the father?" Renji asked again after Rukia kept smacking him for asking so many questions.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya." She said her eyes on her stomach the whole time. She knew it was Toshiro's. She could feel a mixture of his and her reiatsu inside her now.

"How? How did this happen?" Renji asked the question they all wanted an answer to. "Momo, you and Captain Hitsugaya only met up again after you joined the fight, and even then you two were only alone together after you were both injured."

She nodded, agreeing with his words. "It's true. That was the only time that we were together but it's also false." She said closing her eyes, thinking back to that other world that they were in. "We…we were in another world. It was a world of ice filled with plums and peaches. It was just to two of us and together we became one in that world." She told them, reliving her memories of that world again.

"Another world?" They all looked confused by that. What could she have meant by another world? They didn't see them disappear or open a portal to a different world.

"I see…" Urahara seemed to understand. "I wasn't expecting that answer."

"Wait, so you understand what she's talking about?" Ichigo asked. He wanted answers to what he was just told.

"Kind of," Urahara crossed his arms and though of how to word this. "When two Soul Reapers, or souls even, are in battle and are dying, their reiatsu or spiritual power is released into the world around them. Now if their feelings for the world or each other are strong enough, their reiatsu can create a world that was made by them, a world that was only meant for them to see. It is there they spend their finally moment together," He stopped, looking to see if anyone was confused before continuing. "Now most of the time, the two souls die together and move on but there are times when one or both of them survive and come out of that world. After that, they hold the others power inside their body. The power that their partner had became their own to use in battle, but I've never heard of a cause of a person getting pregnant from it." He crossed his arms, thinking over this situation.

"Although I suppose it could happen," He rubbed his chin a little. "If the feelings are strong enough and the actions that they do in that world are repeated over and over then I suppose it's possible to get pregnant by it." He sounded unsure by his own theory but still went with it.

"So now what?" Chad asked Urahara, waiting for an answer.

Urahara only shrugged, saying he wasn't sure what to do since something like this wasn't a common thing.

"Well I say we contact the Soul Society." Ichigo said, crossing his arms. "We have to at least tell them that you're alive, or even let Toshiro that he's going to be a dad." He stood up to try and contact them but was stopped when Yoruichi bite his ankle. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He cried, rubbing his bleeding ankle.

"You fool, did you forget that with the portal sealed off for good, we have no way of contacting the Soul Society." Yoruichi sometimes wondered how Ichigo could be so strong and yet so stupid.

"It's alright." Momo spoke up, her hands still holding her stomach. "I don't mind," She gave a small smile to her stomach, once again feeling the now familiar but still new reiatsu that was inside her. "Don't get me wrong, I want Toshiro to know that he's going to be a dad, but if there's no way to enter or contact them then I can live with that,' She began to slowly rub her stomach. "Besides, even if we could how can I tell him that he's going to be a father and yet he can never see his child?" She added sadly.

They all sat there for a moment, taking it all in. This whole situation was a lot to handle and they needed time to think about what they should do next. "Alright then." Urahara stood up, arms crossed and a smile on his face. "While you all think about your next move, I have some gigais to make. One's that will not only let you keep your powers but will give you more of a human feeling. This way you can adapt easier to this world and when Momo delivers her baby, it won't cause any harm to it." With that said he walked out of the small clinic and made his way down to his shop, whistling the whole way.

"So now what do we do?' Chas asked once again.

They all thought this over and thought it would be best for them to decide where everyone would be staying, and then they would start their new lives.

* * *

"I'm home!" Renji announced, taking off his shows and walked into the living room.

"Welcome home." Momo greeted him from her seat on the couch. In front of her was a table filled with papers and a laptop right in the middle. "How was work?" She asked as he sat down in the chair opposite of where she sat.

"Tiring. I swear none of those damn brats know how to fight." He complained scratching the back of his head.

"It's couldn't have been that bad?" Momo giggled, she was used to Renji saying that about the students he taught.

"It is. I swear none of those damn kids could ever make it if I put them through the training that we went through." He said again, giving a quick stretch of his sore muscles.

"We're back." Orihime's voice came floating into the house as she and Uryu walked into the living room. "How are you guys?"

"Fine." Renji said briefly going into the kitchen to grab a quick drink.

"I'm good." Momo said rubbing her rounded belly.

It's already been nine months since the war with Aizen and the portal to the Soul Society had closed. After long hours of discussing what their living arrangements would be, they all decided that Momo would live Orihime because her healing abilities would help with the baby. Renji decided to join them, just in case any Hollow or anything decided to hurt the girls. Having a Soul Reapers baby meant a lot of reiatsu would be released when Momo's emotions were unstable. It didn't help that she was having the baby of a captain, one that was considered a child prodigy and was very powerful. The girl could sneeze and suddenly the chair she was sitting on would turn to ice.

Uryu later moved in because he and Orihime started dating and were becoming very serious. Now because the apartment was so small they knew they couldn't all live there, so they all got jobs and with the help of Uryu's father and some of Ichigo's college fund, he still doesn't know, they bought a nice house that was close to where everyone lived.

Uryu began working with his father at the hospital, part time until school was over. Orihime began working at a pastry shop, amazingly a lot of people liked the foods she made and her boss would give her a big bonus every time she sold out the whole store. Renji got a job of teaching kids and teenagers how to fight, judo, karate, kendo, he did it all to the point where the old master decided to go into early retirement and let Renji run the whole place. Momo was able to get a nice job as a manga artist and later was able to get a publisher and was now a new but well liked writer in Japan. She had some short stories already out and was working on a novel right now.

"That's good." Orihime ran over Momo and jumped to sit next to her on the couch. "What are you working on?" She asked looking over the pieces of paper and laptop.

"Just an old legend." Momo told them, she looked at her laptop with a smile. "It's about a young girl that goes into this other world and meets people who become her friends and protectors. From there she has the power of a phoenix helping her, a phoenix that shines a bright red whenever she's in trouble." She said taking a big spoon full of honey and placing it in her mouth. She smiled when the sweet taste of it entered her mouth, and laughed when the baby kicked saying it enjoyed the honey as well.

"Are you still eating that crap?" Renji came back in the room just as Momo ate her honey. He sat back down on the chair and sighed before drinking. "That stuff is gonna rot your teeth and it can't be to go for the baby." He added pointing at the jar of honey that she had opened. He remembered that before he left today it was a brand new full jar and now it's only three spoons away from being totally gone.

"Actually pregnant women can eat honey, it's only infants that can't." Uryu fixed his glasses as she spoke his knowledge. "Although to much honey a day can't be too good, it seems as though both Momo and the baby are quite happy with eating honey." He gave a quick smile before crossing his arms and stood in the middle of the living room. Even though he was living with two Soul Reapers now, he still considered the Soul Society his enemy and therefore takes him a while to relax around them.

"Whoa, that sounds really interesting. I wonder though, if you should maybe add in a traveling samurai that is at first very mean but later we find out he's a good guy." Orihime suggested liking the idea of a samurai.

"Very interesting, Orihime." Uryu liked his girlfriend's idea. "But you, it would make it more interesting if he were to have a cape." He added his own idea to it.

Orihime seemed to like that idea. "You're so right Uryu. That would make it so much more interesting!" She and Uryu suddenly started talking about what new characters that could put into Momo's story.

Renji watched the young couple as they talked and then looked at Momo. "They do know it's your story?" He sometimes wondered about those two.

Momo only giggled at the two of them. "It's ok, I actually don't mind…!" Her words died on her as she clenched her stomach in pain.

"Momo?" Renji saw this, quickly jumping to her side to check her over. "Momo? Are you ok? Momo!" He was worried now. She was breathing heavy and seemed like she was in a lot of pain.

"The…baby!" She breathed out in a heavy gasp. "It's…it's coming!" She cried as her first contraction came.

"Now?" Both Renji and Uryu looked shocked and scared at the sound of the baby coming.

Orihime on the other hand was excited. "That's so great!" She bounced up and down, thinking over what if Momo would have either a girl or a boy. As she was bouncing thinking of how cute the baby would look, she missed Momo's body start to glow a light blue.

Uryu on the other hand noticed right away. "Orihime, get away from there!" He quickly grabbed her away from Momo just as she cried from another contraction came and she froze the entire couch and floor. All three jumped away from her before they were frozen over themselves, waiting for her body to stop glowing.

"We need to get Hinamori to Ichigo's so his dad can deliver the baby." Uryu said watching as Hinamori's body slowing stopped glowing.

"Right." Renji agreed and went over to get Momo when they all stopped and felt the presence of something evil. Before long, a hollow came through the wall of the room and went for Momo. "Momo!" Quickly getting out of his gigai and swinging his Zanpakuto at the creature and killing it.

"Damn." Uryu swore when he saw more Hollows begin to come. "I was afraid of this happening." He shot three of them at once with his arrows. "Renji, you and Orihime get Hinamori out of here. I'll handle the Hollows." He said firing off more arrows. He was worried that something like this might happen. The Hollows stopped showing up after the portal was closed, but he had a feeling they would show up again once Hinamori went into labor. All the reiatsu that she was releasing was attracting them.

"Yeah…alright." Renji didn't have time to argue. Quickly he picked Momo up bridal style and told Orihime to get on his back. From their he used Shunpō to flash step to Ichigo's.

"Ichigo!" Both Orihime and Renji cried as they appeared at the front door of the small clinic.

"You guys?" Ichigo was already out the door, in his soul reaper form. "What's going on? I was just about to come over there when I felt…"

"There's no time for your small talk!" Renji shouted at the orange headed teen and ran inside the house. "Momo is about to give birth to the baby!" He shouted to everyone in the room.

"Really?" Rukia, Karin, and Yuzu all gasped in surprise and Ichigo's dad went into action. He took Momo from Renji and brought her into another room to deliver her baby. Orihime coming with him, she would be there to help Momo through the pain, trying to heal away any problems that may come.

As Momo was placed down on the bed, she clenched her stomach in pain once again as another contraction came. The pain was so much worse then she even imaged. The contraction faded but she was still in pain, sweat was pouring off her forehead.

'_Relax.' _

A soothing voice was heard.

'_You're baby will be fine. I will see to that, I will watch over your child forever.' _

The voice was gone now but it made Momo feel so much better. Lighter almost, the pain didn't hurt as badly as it first did. She opened her eyes to stare at Orihime, who was telling her to breathe, when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a red feather floating down to the table near her before disappearing with the wind.

"I'm coming too!" Renji tried to walk in, but was stopped.

"You can't." Isshin Kurosaki said just as he set Momo down. "Only family members or the father may come in and you aren't either."

"Just because I'm not doesn't mean I can leave her alone. We had Hollows appearing one after another to get to Momo at the house and I know you can't protect her and help her give birth at the same time!" He shouted pushing his way into the room. Momo was his friend and Renji wasn't a person that would leave his friends in a situation where they could end up getting hurt.

Isshin only sighed and allowed him to stay in the room. Renji made a point, he would need him there in case any Hollows showed up and he couldn't deliver the baby if that happened. "Fine, but no one else!" With that said he shut the door and began the process to deliver the baby into this world.

With the door shut, everyone else waited outside. They would sit there and wait until the baby was born and defend it if any type of creature decided to show up. Only a few did and they were easily taken care of. Chad and Uryu arrived not a few minutes after and they joined their friends in waiting. The sun was beginning to set and no more Hollows were showing up and the cries of pain Momo were screaming were getting louder and louder.

"How much longer do think she'll be in labor?" Yuzu asked she was bothered by the painful cries of her new friend. Although she didn't know her long, she considered Momo a very close friend and didn't like hearing her cries of pain.

Uryu answered her, fixing his glasses on his face. "Who knows? When a woman goes into labor it could be hours and even days before the baby finally comes."

"What? Are you serious!" Ichigo was surprised by this news and suddenly he felt extremely bad for Momo.

Another cry of pain was heard in the room, only this time it didn't belong to Momo. The door to the room opened soon after and Renji walked out, holding his hand in pain. He came over and sat down next to Rukia. Uryu quickly went into the kitchen to get the first aid kit.

"Are you ok?" She asked, looking over her old friend.

"I'm ok; it's Momo who's in real pain." He said rubbing his hand. "I only came in here for some bandages and ice. I'm going back in there after that. We've had more then three Hollows appearing every five minutes." Renji sighed and thanked Uryu who came over to him and wrapped up his injured hand.

"Did you get that from the Hollows?" Chas asked, he and everyone else wondered if they should have another go in there to help guard Momo.

Renji only shook his head no and stood up. "Momo was in a lot of pain and Orihime had to get Isshin something so I took over with holding her hand. At that moment a contraction came, a big one at that, and she squished me hand so hard that I think she broke a finger." He mumbled the last part before going back into the room and shutting the door.

They all watched him go back in and sighed. They were worried for their friend and wanted her to ok again. "My oh my." All jumped when they heard a new voice. "It sounds like a lot has happened." Urahara was sitting on the table, fanning himself, his eyes looking at the room that Momo was in. He wasn't alone though, Yoruichi and everyone else from his crazy candy shop were sitting at the table with him.

"Urahara!" Ichigo growled when he saw them all. "Just what the hell are you all doing here?" He hated it when people suddenly showed up at his house and acted like they lived there.

"What are you talking about? I came to give the baby a few gifts!" Urahara replied, holding a baby bag in his hand. "I thought Momo could use it." He started to pull things out of the bag. "Like some cute baby clothes, candy, toys, some fake documents to make it seem like both Momo and her baby were born into this place and not get arrested by the police." He said quickly dumping all his presents on the table. He dug into the bag one more time, searching for another gift. "And last but not least…a giant lollypop!" He pulled a pink and white lollypop that was the size of his head.

"Urahara…!" Ichigo growled, getting his sword ready. "Get that crap off my table!"

"Whoa, calm down man." Urahara said in a cool tone. He took a long lick of his lollypop. "I didn't only come here to bring gifts." He said quickly crossing his legs on the table.

"Then why are you here?" Ichigo asked, he sat back down on his couch and wondered what the hell the guy was even doing here. He could never really understand Urahara and how he thinks sometimes.

Urahara only smirked at him and continued licking his lollypop. "Are you really that clueless, Ichigo?" Yoruichi spoke up this time. Her arms were crossed and she too was wearing a smirk. "In case you, or anyone else for that matter, didn't notice there's a barrier around your house right now."

They all gasped and quickly looked around the house, feeling for the barrier that they were told of. It didn't take them long to feel the barrier in place, it was a strong one, filled with a lot of spiritual pressure that they wondered how they missed it. "What's the barrier for?" Rukia asked. "If you're worried about the Hollows, we can handle them. Renji and Orihime are with Momo now, so she and the baby are protected." The room got very quiet at this point. They wanted to know the reason for barrier.

"I'll admit that the Hollows are a concern for us," Urahara started, somehow finishing off that huge lollypop. "I'm afraid we have other things to worry about." He tossed the stick across the room and hit a Hollow that was trying to sneak in. It was killed once the stick touched its white mask.

"It would seem that with Momo in labor, she is releasing a lot more reiatsu then we expected and it's attracting Hollows from all over the world." Yoruichi told them, "Some of them are even smart enough to get pass the barrier and can enter into the house." She jumped from her seat and kicked a new Hollow in the head, killing it instantly.

"So, we'll fight them off." Ichigo said, already standing with his sword. Chad and Uryu were ready as well and Rukia stayed close to Ichigo sisters all the while keeping her eyes on the room that Momo was in.

Urahara only sighed. "I'm afraid it's not that simple." He sounded deadly serious and it scared them. "Momo's baby has an immense amount of spirit energy, almost as much as Ichigo's," He looked at the young teen for a moment. "Not only that, but there is a trace of Hitsugaya's spiritual power in there as well. So instead of just one, the baby will have two types of spirit energy. One that is the babies alone and another power that comes from Hitsugaya." He jumped off the table and moved towards the door. The cries of pain from Momo were stopping now. "This baby will be very special; it'll have the power I was speaking about from before. This baby, if properly trained can open the portal to the Soul Society with it causing damage to the two worlds." They all held their breathes at the thought of one baby having that much power. Suddenly Urahara started playing with his hands and then pulled out a small black bracelet form his hat.

"What's that?" Karin asked him, she was confused by this whole situation. Ichigo had only explained so much to her about the war so she didn't know every detail about the portal to the other world.

"This is a special bracelet." Urahara looked it over in his hand. "It'll help the baby keep the power that Hitsugaya gave from spreading out into the world and starting a new ice age."

"Wait, are you telling me that this baby also has the power to freeze things as well!" Rukia was shocked to hear something like this. "This baby…it has the power of Hyourinmaru?"

Urahara shook his head no just as Isshin came out of the room. "Come on in here everyone, it's time you all meet a new face." He went back into the room after that.

"Urahara, answer the question!" Rukia wanted an answer. There was no way that the baby could have the power of Hyourinmaru, only one Soul Reaper could have that power and it was Hitsugaya, there was never any sharing of power.

Giving them a quick chuckle, Urahara moved off the wall and began to walk into the room. "Of course not," He looked back at them. "This baby will have the power of the dragon that Hyourinmaru was born from." He said no more as he walked into the room, Yoruichi and everyone else following in after him.

It wasn't long before everyone came into the room and saw a tried looking Momo holding her new baby in her arms. It was wrapped up in a little pink blanket, telling all she had a girl, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, happy to be in this world. Looking up from her new daughter Momo smiled at all her friends. It was only because of them that she and her daughter were in this world, that they were happy together.

"She's so cute." Yuzu said taking a step closer to look at the new born.

"She really is." Karin agreed, stepping closer to her dad. Seeing this new baby suddenly made he want to be closer with her family members right now.

They all went closer to get a better look at the baby and saw that she had a little patch of plum hair, like her mother's. In an instant her eyes opened, looking at everyone around her, showing off her clear and brilliant blue eyes. Eyes that matched her father's perfectly.

"She looks like you." Rukia told her, moving closer to Momo. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." She answered in a soft tone. "Just a little tired."

"That's to be expected after everything you just went through." Isshin said, clearly proud of himself for delivering the baby. "Most women in labor take at least a day before the baby even starts crowing, but you had a few hours."

"Hey dad?" Ichigo suddenly went up to his father, a confused look on his face. "What happened to the table and chair over there?" He pointed at the half frozen half melted desk and chair that was in the corner.

"Oh that?" Isshin rubbed the back of his head. "It seems that while she was in the process of giving birth, Momo couldn't control hers and the baby's reiatsu and it ended up doing that." He had a sheepish smile on his face. It was obvious that he didn't plan Momo for what had happened.

"It's just as I thought?" Urahara said walking over to the baby and placed the bracelet around her arm. "This is special bracelet that I created; it'll help keep her powers under control until she can do it herself." He crossed his arms, stepping back over next to Yoruichi.

"Thank you." Momo appreciated what he had done for her daughter. That was a fear she had for her daughter, if she could control her powers or not. If she really did have the same powers as her father, then she would be freezing everything whenever her emotions got out of control. She could remember more then once walking into a frozen squad ten room because someone had mad Toshiro so angry that he couldn't control himself anymore.

"So what's her name?" Yuzu asked Momo, she loved looking at the baby that was now playing with her new bracelet.

"Akane. Akane Hitsugaya." She said her daughter's name with such love, holding her closer to her heart. The sound of her heartbeat made her daughter drowsy and soon enough she fell asleep in her mother's arms.

"What made you pick that name?" Chad asked. He and everyone else thought she would pick a name that went with either her name or Hitsugaya's.

"Because…" Momo began, looking at all her friends. "It was in the middle of my labor. I was just about to give birth when I suddenly felt very warm; it felt like I was being engulfed in a brilliant red light and suddenly my baby was born, a red light surrounding her." She explained the reason behind her daughter's name.

"Akane?" Ichigo looked over the sleeping infant. "It's a good name." He patted the babies head and smiled down at Momo. Already knowing that this baby was special and would have a great life. A life filled with lover from her mother and all her friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Akane means Brilliant Red. Sorry, I forgot to put that in my first chapter.

* * *

It's been over sixteen years since the Winter War and Aizen was defeated. The Human world and the Soul Society have been sealed off from each other ever since. While Hollows and spirits still showed up, it wasn't as frequent as it used to be. It was a peaceful time for everyone that fought in the war. However peace does not last forever and the time was coming for the two worlds to be opened to each other once again.

* * *

"I'm leaving now!" A female voice rang through the house with footsteps following through. This young girl was wearing the Karakura High school uniform; her hair was in a high ponytail being tied with a blue ribbon with sliver bells on the ends. Her hair was a dark plum hair and bright teal blue eyes. Her name was Akane.

"Ok, be careful out there!" Momo called to her daughter. It had already been sixteen years since she gave birth to her daughter and even now she still couldn't believe how much she had grown or how strong her spiritual power was.

"I will!" Akane waved goodbye to her mother and ran off to school.

Momo watched her leave and gave a quiet sigh. "She's really growing up." She spoke softly to Tobiume. It had been a while since she last used her Zanpakutō but she would forever keep Tobiume with her. It was a part of her after all and one of the few things she had with her from her old life in the Soul Society.

As the years went by, Orihime and Uryu decided it was time to get a place of their own so they moved out five years ago. Renji still lived with Momo and her daughter helping Akane control her powers when Ichigo or Urahara couldn't. It's been a strange couple of years, but Momo was happy with her life, she was grateful for the peace and happy times that she had experienced but even so, she still missed her old home. She missed all of her old friends, her old team, but mostly she missed Toshiro.

Giving another sigh she walked over to Tobiume and held her in her hands. "I wonder what he's doing right now." Her mind wondered to happier times when it was just her and Toshiro, eating watermelons and living their lives the way they wanted too. The memories brought silent tears to her eyes before she quickly wiped them away. "I'm sure, one day we'll see each other again." With that said, she put Tobiume back on the couch and went to start with the laundry and all of her other daily activities.

* * *

"Akane!" The young girl stopped when she heard someone call her name. She only just entered the school when she saw her best friend Miyu walking towards her.

"Good morning!" They greeted each other and went to their class together.

"So where were you last night? I tried calling you but there was no answer." Miyu asked once inside the class.

"Sorry about that. Training with Uncle Renji went longer then I expected it too." Akane whispered to her best friend, she didn't want the other kids to her their talk. Although it's against the rules to let humans know about Soul Reapers and their powers, Momo allowed her daughter to tell her best friend. She saw that the secret was causing problems for the two girls so she let Akane tell Miyu everything.

"Really?" Miyu gasped with bright eyes. Ever since she learned about Akane's powers, she's been trying to learn everything about her training. Miyu was Akane's age with short dirty blonde hair and green eyes. She lives at a shrine with her grandfather. It was that reason that Akane knew she could trust Miyu with her secret. Besides her being her best friend, Miyu grew up around old legends and ghost tales, and she even told her that if she concentrates she can see the figures of some spirits. "How was it? What did you do?" She was already on the edge of her chair, trying to get the information out of her best friend. "Come on, tell me. Your training is always so cool!"

"What training?" Both girls gasped when they heard the extra voice. They looked and saw it was their friend Ami standing next to them. Ami had waist length black hair and brown eyes. She was always well behaved and was very sweet to others around her.

"Oh, hi Ami." Akane greeted her with a wave, Miyu doing the same.

"Good morning to you as well." She greeted them back with a small bow. "I'm so sorry for interrupting you but I could not help but wonder about this training you were speaking of?" She always talked in an old fashion way but parents and teachers seemed to love it when she did that. To Akane and Miyu it made them feel like they were talking to an old woman that had been around for years.

"It was soccer. My uncle is really obsessed with sports and has been training me everyday." Akane lied through her teeth. Miyu was the only friend that was allowed to know her secret. Ami and her meet in middle school and were good friends but even if she was her friend, she still couldn't tell her. "Since soccer ended for the season and summer is almost here, my uncle wants me to stay in shape so he's been training me everyday after school." It was a lie she's used many times. It helped when she came to school with burses on her arms and legs that she couldn't hide. Many of the students and teachers at her school knew her uncle Renji ran a Dojo so they didn't suspect anything when she told them that he was training her. It wasn't a total lie either, Renji was training her, only he was training her to kill Hollows and any other type of creature that could come at any moment and try to kill her.

"I see." Ami gave a polite smile. "It would seem that your uncle has not changed since I last saw him." Her smile grew more when she looked at Akane. "It almost seems like he is preparing you for battle."

"Yeah, you could say that." Akane gave a sheepish smile, knowing that Ami would never know how right she was. Her uncle Renji, as well as her mother and everyone else she's known since birth has been training her to fight.

"Well, I must go to my seat before the teacher comes in." She gave a quick bow again and left for her seat.

They watched her walk to her seat and saw her sit down. "Ok, she's gone. Now tell me what you did in training!" Miyu didn't waste any time asking questions about Akane's training.

Akane only giggled and told her. "Just what we always do, Uncle Renji coming at me, trying to get me to understand and control my powers better."

"I thought you already controlled it?" Miyu questioned looking down at Akane's bracelet.

The bracelet was created by Urahara and given to her the day she was born. She was told that because of how strong her spiritual pressure was it would attract a lot of Hollows and hurt the people around her. It was also designed for her to have better control of her powers without it leaking out and freezing or burning everyone around her. It was a strange power she had; she had both her mother and father's power of freezing and burning. It was such a weird power and it also didn't help that she didn't discover her Zanpakutō yet.

She stopped her thoughts there; she didn't want to think about how she still hadn't gotten her sword yet. "Not completely," Akane held onto her bracelet. "I can use it but the power is still so new to me. There are still so many things that I don't know about it," She let out a soft sigh and looked out her class window. "Besides, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day for me to practice. I have school, homework, soccer practice, chores, and then I have to run to practice and try to control my crazy power!" Her head fell to the desk in complete exhaustion. She was really tried from everything that she does on a daily basic. She loved being a Shinigami but sometimes she wished she could live a normal life. She saw ghost, fought evil spirits, and had to control her reiatsu every waking moment of her life. Hell, sometimes she would have to concentrate while she's sleeping so she doesn't burn down the house or freeze it over.

"_I wonder if dad ever had this problem." _Akaneknew about her father and who he was. Her mother told her about him a long time ago and the situation they were in. The world that her father lived in was closed off a long time ago and it could never be opened again.

Her father had no clue that she and her mother were alive and living in the human world. _"What would he do if he knew we were here?" _She had often wondered that. After her mother told her everything that had taken place during and after the war, Akane always wondered what her father would do if he found out about them. Her mom always said he would try and open the portal by himself but she knew that it was pointless. The portal was closed off and only ghost could get through and pass on to the soul society.

Urahara had explained it to them a long time ago. Even with the portal closed, the spirits of the dead could still pass on. It was the nature of things and it didn't matter how strong the seal on the portal was, nothing could stop the way of nature. They can leave the world of the living and become part of the soul society, become soul reapers, and maybe even meet her dad and become part of his squad.

"_The spirits of the dead can meet dad but I can't, that is so unfair." _Akane sighed and let her eyes close. Her teacher had already started the lesson but she knew all of this stuff. She could sleep in class for a week and take a test on what she slept through and still ace it. Her mom said that it was because her father was a genius and it somehow passed onto her. _"If I'm such a genius then why can't I come up with a way to see dad?" _She sighed again and let sleep take over her.

_/Dream/_

_The world around her was filled with ice but there were tress filled with plum blossoms and peaches. It was a strange world, but it seemed so familiar. She had never been there before but she felt like she was a part of this world. Like this world was where she came from, where she was created and born. _

"_Where am I?" She looked all around her, the scenario was very beautiful but that didn't mean she should let her guard down. She had been taught since birth that she needed to keep her guard up whenever she felt like something weird was happening to her. "Hello?" She called out again, wanting someone to appear and tell her where she was. _

"_**You have come." **_

_Suddenly the scenario changed and all that was around her fire and ice. She was floating in between the two elements and stared in awe at them. _

"_**Child, you must use my power. Embrace my power."**_

_My mind went blank as I heard these words but saw no figure. _

"_Who are you?" I shouted again, looking all around me, trying to catch a glimpses of who was speaking to me. _

_Suddenly the fire and ice the surrounded me began to mold together and soon enough a bright red dragon appeared in front of me. The dragon huge with bright red wings that made the feathers on them fall to the ground as it flapped its wings. The tips of those feathers were a shade of blue that I had never seen before. Its eyes were a matching blue and seemed to be looking in my own blue eyes. _

"_**My name is…Huang-Long"**_

_My body felt like it was freezing over and melting at the same time. It was such a strange feeling, one that I had never felt before. So why did it feel it I have? I have never felt this kind of power before but my body is telling me that I have. _

"_**Child, you must open the portal. Use my power to recreate the world before you no longer have the chance." **_

_I couldn't move or even speak. All I could do was stand in awe at this creature before me and listen as it spoke to me. _

"_**Use my power." **_

_It said that again but what did it mean. I wasn't sure but I wanted to listen to it. I trusted this creature before with my life and would use its power. I would do what it had wanted me to do. _

"_Descend From The Heavens Above…Huang-Long!" I held out my hand and in a flash the dragon before me transformed into a sword. It was my sword, my __Zanpakutō._

_Suddenly the world around her began to collapse and was engulfed in a bright light. _

_/End Dream/_

"Akane." She heard a voice calling out of the world she was in. Her body felt light and seemed like it was moving. "Akane, wake up." The voice was familiar to her ears and seemed to be the source of what was taking her out of that world she was in. "Come on! Wake up already!"

That did it. With a jolt she jumped in her sheet when she heard Miyu screaming in her ear. She looked around her now empty classroom and was surprised that it was only her and Miyu in the room.

"_Was it all a dream?" _Her mind flashed her back to that world she was in and wondered if it was just a dream created by her tired mind.

"Amazing!" Miyu's shocked voice snapped her back to reality once more. "Akane! You got it!" She pointed at Akane's right hand with shock and amazement.

She looked at her friend in confusion before lowering her gaze to her hand. She gasped when she saw what was in her hand. A long sword was in her grasp, a sword with a crimson sheath and a dark blue and read handle that seemed like the colors were combing into a new color. A dark blue sash was wrapped around two ends of her sword.

"Huang-Long." She whispered out her swords…no, her Zanpakutō's name. She did it, she really did it. She finally got her soul slayer; she was a real Soul Reaper now.

"Congratulations!" Miyu hugged her in a tight embrace and before long Akane was returning the hug. Both girls were screaming in joy at the sight of the long sword that was still in Akane's hand.

"This is just…amazing! I can't believe it." Akane was trying to find the words that could describe how she was feeling at this moment. "This is just great. I can't believe I finally got my Zanpakutō!" Her face went from pure joy to pure terror. "Oh my god! I got my Zanpakutō!"

Miyu looked surprised by her friend's look of horror. "You make it sound like a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing." Akane quickly ran to the door, checking to see if anyone was coming by. "I just got my Zanpakutō, in school! A place filled with people that could easily see it and call the cops on me." She sighed running a hand through her hair. "Not to mention that this place will probably be crawling with Hollows soon enough. They probably on their way now because they felt my spirit energy rise!" She groaned again and suddenly wished once again that she was just a regular girl that didn't need to worry about problems like these.

"Ok, so what do we do?" Miyu asked, moving to stand beside her best friend.

"We leave school early. Mom won't care if I leave because of this." With that said, the two girls quickly, but stealthy, walked to the main office to be excused from school.

* * *

"So you see, Akane Hitsugaya and I need to leave school immediately." Miyu said as sweetly as she could to the principle in front of her. Akane was outside the office, trying to hide her Zanpakutō from any passing students or teachers. So far she was lucky that no one had passed by, it wasn't that easy hiding a sword that was an inch or so taller then she was. Akane wasn't considered short but she also wasn't considered tall either. Her mother said that she was an inch shorter then she was when she was her age. Aside from the eyes, the immense spiritual power, and brains, Akane also got the short gene that her father apparently had. Although she wasn't as short as her mother said her father was, she was taller by at least three inches, but she was still short.

The principle, Mrs. Yumagi, looked at Miyu with a questioning look before giving a long sigh. "Very well. I will let the two of you leave early today. You're just lucky that tomorrow is the start of summer or I wouldn't allow this."

Miyu only smiled at this and quickly ran to the door. "Yes ma'am. We understand and thank you very much." The door was shut and the two girls ran out of the school before anyone noticed them.

"So now what do we do?" Miyu asked. She was still learning all about Soul Reapers and their rules. Akane herself was still learning but she knew more then Miyu did.

"We go to my mom. She's at home working on her manuscript and some new designs for characters." Akane said running down the street. She knew that there were many people passing by giving the strange looks, two high school students running out of their school when it's not even noon yet and one of them was holding a sword. It didn't look good but she didn't have time to be sneaky. Even now, she could feel the presences of Hollows start to appear in the town. "Let's hurry."

They picked up speed and ran; neither girl said anything as they ran towards Akane's and Momo's home. Both knew the dangers of walking around in board daylight with a weapon. Not only could a police officer come by and arrest them for carrying a weapon without a permit, but Hollows could appear at any moment and started attacking them and innocent bystanders. They needed to hurry home before any of that happened.

The two were nearing Akane's home when they saw a bunch of people standing around. They saw flames rising in the air and fire trucks were surrounding the flames, trying their hardest to put them out.

Akane almost screamed when she saw that it was her house that was on fire. "Mom! Uncle Renji!" She watched in horror as the house that she grew up in was slowly burning to the ground. Her mother was still at home and she was sure that Renji hadn't left for work yet so he was still home as well. "No!" She made a break for her house, hoping that she could somehow find a way to save her family, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

Shocked by the sudden event, Akane looked up in surprise to see Ichigo in his Shinigami uniform. Over the years Ichigo had changed as well. His hair remained the same, it never once lost its color, while his face had matured more into an adult and his began to grow a little stubbles of hair on his chin. "Relax. Momo and Renji are just fine."

She was happy to hear that her family was safe but she wanted to know why her house was on fire and what was happening. "But how…?" She wanted answered about what was going on.

"_**Would you look at that? More delinquents probably goofing off." **_

"_**Yeah, you're probably right. It's a good thing that the house has been abandoned for years now." **_

"_**It's just pure luck that no one lived in this house. No's hurt so the police just need to find who started the fire." **_

Akane gasped when she heard the people talk. What did they mean no one lived in that house? She had lived there her whole life. For when her mother was pregnant with her to now, they had always lived in that house together. So how was it that these people were saying that the house had been empty for years? None of this made any sense to her.

"Come on." Ichigo picked up both her and Miyu before using Shunpō and flashed stepped away from her burning home. In a matter of minutes they were in front of Urahara's shop. "Let's go." Ichigo walked in, expecting the two girls to follow him.

They didn't really have any other choice so they followed him. They walked in after him and slowly made their way over to the secret stairs that Urahara had for the training grounds that he had under his shop. It always amazed the girls, and anyone else who walked in, how big the whole training area really was.

"Ah! I see Ichigo has returned," Urahara hadn't really changed that much over the years. His hair had become a bit longer and there was more hair on his chin now and his once light green jacket had been replaced with a darker green, but other then that he was still the same. "And it looks like he brought company." He was fanning himself as he spoke.

"Akane!" Momo cried when she saw her daughter. She ran to her as fast as her feet let her and hugged her daughter. "I'm so glad that you're alright." Momo was wearing a longed sleeved light pink shirt with her sleeves stopping at her elbow. A white skirt that stopped at her knees with plum blossoms decorated on the right side. She had on pink ballet flats and her hair was let down; only two pieces were tied back with a single White ribbon with light blue lines on the sides of it.

Not knowing what else to do, Akane hugged her mother back. "I'm glad you're safe too mom." She really was. When she saw their home on fire so was so ready to cry and runaway from the thoughts that her mother might be dead. "What happened?" She got out of her mother's arms and looked around to see many familiar faces.

Rukia was standing next to Ichigo. Her hair had grown more over the years but she kept it short and looked more and more like her older sister as time passed. Renji was on the other side of Rukia and had his arms crossed. His red hair had grown as well, it was reaching pass his shoulders towards his back. A white and red cloth tied around his forehead and he had more tattoos now. They stopped at his wrists and ended by his waist. Akane noticed that they too were in their Shinigami uniforms. He still lived with Momo, in his own room, mostly to help train Akane and keep Hollows away.

Orihime was standing next to her husband Uryu. Her long orange hair still held back by her hair clips. She wore a yellow turtle neck top that had no sleeves, with a white belt and a long white skirt that reached her ankles. She like Momo had ballet flats but hers were white. Uryu still looked serious and his short blue hair was now tied back with a light blue ribbon. He was in his Quincies outfit. A longed sleeved white shirt with white pants, two white gloves that had blue crossed on each of them. A cape that covered his left shoulder with a gold chain attaching it and a dark blue belt wrapped around his waist.

He and Orihime moved out when Akane was four and found their own small apartment before moving into a bigger home after they were married and had their first child. Uryu was the director of the hospital after his father retired and Orihime was the head nurse that worked their. Although on the side both made up designs for a local fashion company.

Their son name was Chiriko and he had light blue hair like his father but it was more on the purple side. He had bright green eyes and was very smart. Since his parents did well in school, he did as well. He was only thirteen but he was already in his last year of middle school. He had powers like his father but he was able to heal like his mother.

Chad was also there as well. He had grown more in both size and in strength. The coin that his grandfather had given to him was still wrapped around his neck but now it was by a thick black cord, making it easier to fight and not worry about it breaking off. His powers were activated and seemed ready for a fight any moment now. Chad wore a black jacket with a white shirt under it and blue jeans and black sneakers.

"What's going on?" She asked again wanting answers. "Why was out house on fire? And why did those people say it was empty? Just what is happening?" She wanted them to answer the questions that were filling her head.

"And so it begins." Everything froze when a new voice entered the room.

They all looked up and saw that it Ami floating above them. Her arms crossed and a smirk was placed on her face as she looked down at the all. "I'm glad you all could make it." She floated slowly down in between them all.

"Ami?" Akane wasn't sure if what she was seeing is true. Her friend Ami, the girl who talks like an old woman, was a moment ago floating in the air and seemed to drop the old fashion way of talking.

"What are you doing here, Ami?" Miyu came up behind Akane and she looked just as confused at Akane was.

Ami only stared at them before laughing. "It's should be obvious." She uncrossed her arms and got a weird look in her eyes. "I'm going to open the portal to the Soul Society."

It became dead quiet after she spoke. Everyone looked on in shock at her words and for a moment all wondered if what she was saying was true. That she had somehow found a way to reopen the portal and count the two worlds once more.

"You're crazy!" Ichigo decided that it couldn't be done and wouldn't believe the girl. "The portal has been sealed off for sixteen years now. There's no way you can open it!"

Ami only laughed more and raised her hand towards Akane. "But I can, with a little help from my dear friend Akane, I'll have the portal open in no time." She took a step forward and Momo stepped in front of her daughter, blocking all view of her away from Ami.

"What do you want with my daughter?" Momo's voice was calm and steady and that's when Akane finally notice that her mother had Tobiume with her.

"I merely wish to use her power for a few minutes. She has her sword now so it'll make things much easier on me." She stared directly into Momo's eyes and smiled a wicked grin. It told everyone that she was planning more then what she was telling them.

"No way in hell will we let you go anywhere near Akane!" Ichigo already had his sword out and aimed at Ami. Rukia and Renji copied the action and Uryu had his bow out while Orihime stood in front of her son, ready to protect him.

Ami began to laugh again. "Pathetic." With a snap of her fingers her reiatsu rose and suddenly she was engulfed in a dark ball of energy and transformed. Her once long black hair was no cut short, like someone had cut it with a sword, stopping at her shoulders. Her brown eyes were now a dull purple and her outfit was of a white long sleeved shirt with white pants with black scandals and black lines running up and down her arms, legs, shirt, and pants. Her Zanpakutō was around her waist and was a dark purple. What stood out the most though was the white fragment of a mask that was on the left side of her face, covering half her face.

"You…" Uryu gasped when they all saw her appearance. "You're an Arrancar!" All their spiritual pressure rose when they realized who she was.

"Yes, I was once a proud warrior of Lord Aizen." She crossed her arms once again but instead of looking calm like before, she glared at Momo. "That was before you Soul Reapers came and killed him. He would still be alive and ruling like the God he was meant to be if it had not been for that white haired bastard that was protecting you." Ami spat out at Momo. "He would have won that battle had that boy come at him and cut off his arms. He snuck up on him, cutting off his arms, making him unable to battle anymore and you all killed him!"

Momo tightened her grip around her sword. "Toshiro did that to save our world. To save everyone from Aizen before he destroyed everything." She knew of what happened after the building had collapsed on her that day. Ichigo had told her the rage and anger that he saw in Toshiro that day when he went after Aizen and attacked him.

"Shut up!" Ami screamed and went for her Zanpakutō. "It's because of him and the rest of those damn Soul Reapers that Lord Aizen is dead and I tend to get revenge on them all," She had her sword out and aimed it at Momo. "But first I need that bratty daughter of yours to open the portal for me." With that said she went for Momo and attacked.

Even after years of not fighting, Momo was still a vice captain and was able to block the attack. She pushed Akane and Miyu out of the way and blocked off the next attack that Ami sent her way. This lasted for a few moments, Ami sending attacks and Momo would block them but it ended quickly when Ami fired a Cero and Momo had to fall to the ground to escape it.

Ami laughed and went for Momo. "Time to die!" Her Zanpakutō was aimed for Momo's head, ready to chop it off in one cut.

"Roar Zabimaru!" Renji was already blocking the attack and Rukia moved Momo out of the way. He smirked when he saw Ami's annoyed look. "Ha. As if I'm just gonna stand by and watch as you attack my friends!" He pushed her off and went after her.

"So this is really it?" Miyu whispered in wondered behind Akane. "A real fight between a Soul Reaper and an Arrancar." She gulped when she saw the types of attacks that they were using and how much damage they were causing.

"Yeah, I guess so." Akane whispered out softly. She didn't know what she should say or do at this point. She's never seen a battle like this. The biggest fight she ever saw was when her mom fought off five Hollows at once.

"What do we do?" Miyu asked taking a step back when one the attacks stopped only a few feet away from them.

"I'm…I'm not sure." Akane didn't know what to do. She was taught to never run away from a fight but there was no way she could fight an Arrancar. She only just got her Zanpakutō today and even with it her power was still to immature to fight in a real battle like this one.

"Hey, you two!" Rukia shouted towards the two girls. "Miyu you need to get out of here before you end up dead and Akane you need to get over here now!" Rukia called to them again. She was beside both Momo and Orihime now, blocking away any attacks that ended up coming their way. Ichigo had joined with Renji and the two combined seemed to be wearing Ami down.

Akane snapped to action and nodded towards Rukia. "She's right. You need to get out of here Miyu, before something happens to you."

"But what about you?" Miyu looked on in worry at her best friend.

"I'll be fine." Akane held her Zanpakutō close to her heart and tried her best to smile for her best friend.

With a quick nod, both girls moved away from each other and ran. Miyu towards the exit and Akane towards her mother and Rukia. They understood that this was not the time to question orders or try and fight them. All they could do at this point was listen and do what they were told and survive what was happening all around them.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ami jumped away from Ichigo and Renji and ran at Miyu. She jumped in the air and had her sword ready to kill. "Die!"

Akane watched all this happen in slow motion. Ami heading at Miyu, the intent to kill written all over her face, and the look of fear that was on Miyu as she ran for her life. "No!" Akane jumped into action, not even realizing that she flashed stepped her way in front of Miyu until she looked up into Ami's purple eyes and released her Zanpakutō from its sheath.

"Yes!" Ami cheered and through a small stone at Akane, who in one quick motion cut the stone and was suddenly engulfed in a black light. Her body glowed the color black and she was suspended in the air now, screaming in pain as the power that was in the stone was attacking her body. "Yes, scream. Scream in pain and release that energy."

Akane cried out in pain, her body felt like it was being thorn apart on the inside. She never experienced such pain before and wanted it to stop. Tears ran down her face as the pain increased every time she tried to break free. Suddenly there was a strange feeling inside her body; it was like she was going to explode soon if she didn't release this feeling. "Ahhh!" He body began to glow again, only this time it was a red and blue that surrounded her body. In one quick motion she sent out the light that was surrounding her body in the form of a dragon and aimed it at the closes thing she saw.

That's what Ami wanted her to do. Slamming one hand on the ground she made the gate way of the Senkaimon appear as Akane fired her attack at the gate. In a flash the two forces meet and merged into one. Colors were made, the ground began to move, and wind suddenly started to pick up. It was like the building and everything around it was breaking up and being destroyed. Suddenly an explosion went off and after the dust was cleared it revealed that the Senkaimon, the gate that was supposed to remain closed forever, was no open once again.

"N-No way!" Renji gasped at the open gate.

"It can't be." Rukia's eyes were wide as she looked into the gate.

"It's open. The gate to the Soul Society is open!" Ichigo shouted. He wasn't sure if it was from shock or happiness at seeing the gate open.

"It's finally open." Momo whispered out, looking into the gate. For a moment she closed her eyes and remembered the life she once lived before the gate was closed to her forever. _"Shiro-Chan."_ Her eyes were closed but in that one moment it was like she was actually looking at him again. _"Did I…was what I saw…was it the Shiro-Chan that has grown in these seventeen years." _Momo didn't know what to think at this moment. To Hitsugaya and everyone else in the Soul Society, she, Rukia, and Renji were all considered dead. After having Akane she did not fight Hollows anymore or train as often as she would have liked, she had a daughter to raise and bills to pay. She had out grown her Shinigami robes a long time ago and didn't bother asking Uryu to fix them for her. She believed that she would never fight again but it seems like she was wrong.

"Finally!" Ami almost sounded like she was screaming in joy. "It's finally open." She walked towards the gate and looked back at Akane, who was lying on the ground, trying to catch her breath. "Thanks so much for helping me with this gate my dear friend. I'll be sure to thank you in my winning speech after I take over the Soul Society." With that said she jumped through the gate and made her way into the Soul Society, ready to attack their friends that had no idea of the dangers that they were in.

Everyone stood their shocked; all were staring at the gate that was open. They had all believed that the gate would never open again, that they would never see their friends that they had made that lived on the other side. Not the gate was finally open and some Arrancar had used it to go in there and start attacking them.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Ichigo was already making his way towards the gate. "Let's go." Rukia and Renji were not fare behind him.

"Wait a minute." Chad stopped them.

"Why? Don't you want to stop that girl?" Ichigo looked up at his old friend.

Chad said nothing, he only pointed to a tired looking Akane and a worried looking Momo that held her daughter in her arms.

"Oh! Right, I forgot about that." Ichigo rubbed the back of his head.

"Man, Ichigo, even after all these years you still run into battle without a clear head and plan." Uryu commented, fixing his glasses and moved towards Momo and her daughter. Orihime and his son following closely behind him.

"Hey! What was that?" Ichigo was ready to hit him but Uryu was already out of his reach.

"Would you like me to heal her?" Orihime crouched down to Momo's level and gave her a bright smile. She's grown close to Momo over the years and knew how much the girl cared for her daughter, she knew it would destroy her if something happened to her daughter.

Momo returned the smile. "Yes, thank you." Slowly she let her Daughter lie on the ground where Orihime quickly set to work and started to heal whatever damage Ami may have done to her.

"Urahara, just what the hell was that?" Uryu asked the man that was once the Captain of Squad 12 and founder of the Research and Development division in the Soul Society.

Urahara looked at the gate and fanned himself again. "You know, I'm not really sure. I would have to examine it more before I can give you any real details." He gave a loud sigh and fixed his hat. "But if I had to guess, I would say that it was a stone made from fallen Hollows, Soul Reapers, and Arrancars. The stone was probably made to hold the spirit energy of the other world and most likely was focused on the Soul Society so that when Akane cut it with her sword, it would open the gate way and allow anyone to walk through it"

"Now wait just a minute." Renji walked up next to Uryu. "I thought you said that the gateway to the Soul Society could never be open again? At least not without there being some sort of damage to this world." He crossed his arms, waiting for the man to explain and answer his question.

Urahara hid his face behind his fan. "I did say this before. Akane has very strong spirit energy. So strong in fact that her power was the power that created her own father's Zanpakutō." He looked at everyone before moving his gaze towards Akane. Orihime was still healing her but he could tell that she was awake and was listening to him. "Huang-Long. It's a very powerful dragon that was said to have been a dragon of the heaven. They believed that it helped create this world using its power of fire and ice. Two elements that normally hate each other, work in unison for this one dragon."

"So this dragon…this Huang-Long? It's a really powerful Zanpakutō, I'll assume." Ichigo crossed his arms, wanting to know more about this Huang-Long.

"You could say that." Urahara began. "It's a very strong sword; many believed it was a legend, that it didn't exist."

"Why?" Rukia asked next. "I mean wouldn't a sword like that at least be in the academy's textbooks?"

Urahara only shook his head. "Like I said, many thought the sword was only a legend so they didn't bother mentioning it. I, myself believed that it was only a legend." He stopped and again stole a quick glance at Akane. "That was until Akane was born."

"Urahara." Momo spoke up this time. "Tell me, what is happening with my daughter. What will happen to her now?" She looked him in the eyes, daring him to try and like to her about her daughter's fate.

"I'm not really sure." He answered honestly. "Not much is known about Huang-Long. Only that it is very strong and…" He closed his fan and looked at everyone, a serious look in his eyes.

"And what?" Chad urged him to continue. They were all a little unnerved when he suddenly stopped talking.

"Huang-Long is a dragon of such power that only a person whose will is as strong as its own will be able to wield it." He answered them, telling all he knew about Akane's Zanpakutō.

"So now what?" Uryu asked. They understood what was happening, somewhat. The Soul Society was in trouble and the probably didn't even know it yet, so they had to do something.

"We fight." Ichigo said simply walking back towards the gate. "Who's with me?" He turned back around to see who would come with him.

Rukia and Renji followed him again, both were eager to return home and meet with their friends and family. Chad, Uryu and Orihime stayed behind.

"We'll remain here. I'm almost positive that with the gate open now, more Hollows and possible Menos and Arrancars will show up." Uryu said crossing his arms.

"Ok." Ichigo agreed and let his friends stay behind to protect their home. He turned his gaze towards Momo and Akane. "You two coming?"

It was a choice only they could make. A choice that they all believed they would never have the chance to making but now they can. "Akane?" Momo looked down at her daughter. "Are you sure?"

Akane didn't need any time to think. "Yes." She griped Huang-Long once again close to her heart and was ready to fight this time. She would go to the Soul Society, she would stop Ami, and finally she would meet her father.

"Then let's get going!" Ichigo went to run into the gate, ready to fight Ami once again.

"Hold it!" Only Uryu's suddenly cry made him stop short and fall to the ground face first. "While I agree that you should hurry, I simply can't let Akane go fighting off whole she's still in her school uniform." He said, making everyone fall over.

"Damnit Uryu! This isn't the time for stuff like that!" Ichigo shouted once he recovered from his fall.

"There's always time for things like this." Uryu took Akane's hand and lead her back up into the shop and into an outfit that he had prepared for her.

Not five minutes later they came back with a smiling Uryu and a blushing Akane. Uryu had made her a light blue short sleeved shirt with a making blue plaid skirt, and dark blue boots. "I gave it a blue theme since Hitsugaya's dragon was blue and it's his favorite color. This way if you meet him and things are a bit awkward at first, this shout help break the ice." He gave her thumbs up and smiled.

"Wow…thanks." She looked over her outfit and gave a sheepish smile back. _"I think. Will wearing all blue really help break the ice with dad?" _Akane wasn't to sure about this.

"Would that even work?" Ichigo looked to Rukia and Renji for that answer but even they couldn't answer it. "Whatever, let's just go." He moved back towards the gate.

Akane stood behind for a moment and went over to hug Miyu. "I'll be back soon." They two friends smiled and said their goodbyes. Akane ran to her mother and friends and together they jumped into the gate and began to start of their new adventure.


	3. Chapter 3

"Damn it!" Ichigo's cries could be heard all throughout the tunnel as they ran through the Senkaimon Gate. "Why the hell does this always happen?" He cried again, picking up his speed when he felt it getting closer to him. Right now they were all running through the gate and were being chased down by the Cleaner.

"It can't be helped," Yoruichi jumped on Ichigo's head and ran in front of him in cat form. "It's just your bad luck as always Ichigo that we got stuck with the cleaner." Yoruichi joked with him, running faster then the rest of the group.

Ichigo however didn't find the joke that funny. "Hey! What do you mean my bad luck?"

"Excuse me, but can we focus on what's really important here?" Renji yelled, hitting Ichigo in the head, he was running next to Momo and Akane. He was worried about the two of them but mostly Momo, she was the only one of the group that hasn't been training in a while so he feared this sudden run may be to much for her.

"He's right," Yoruichi agreed with Renji. "Orihime isn't here so we won't have her shield to help us out. If the Cleaner gets to close you all just better pick up the pace and run like hell if you don't want to die." Yoruichi warned them all.

"What happens if we get caught by it?" Akane asked them, her hands were wrapped tightly around Huang-Long as she ran beside her mother. This whole event was confusing her and she didn't understand any of this.

"Let's just say its worst then being ground for three weeks." Renji tried joking around with her but it wasn't helping her, or any of them, feel better about being chased down.

"Wait a second…?" Ichigo suddenly realized something. "I thought Aizen destroyed this thing. So why are we being chased by it?" He looked back at it, wondering if they were only seeing an illusion but realized that nothing that big could be fake.

"That's simple," Yoruichi replied. "It may have been destroyed once but it was recreated once the war ended and peace between the two worlds was restored. It's just the way things are."

"So I'm guessing it's exactly like the last cleaner." Rukia concluded running next to Ichigo.

"Well, not exactly," Yoruichi looked back at them before picking up more speed. "It has the same job as the last one did, but this one is much stronger then the last one. It's so it won't be destroyed so easily like the last one."

"I see, that makes sense." Ichigo commented and looked back at the Cleaner. "What the hell?" And screamed when he saw that it doubled in size and was coming at them faster then before.

"It's getting closer!" Renji cried, warning them all. Everyone was trying to pick up speed and run faster but it was coming in at an alarming rate.

"It seems this one has more defensive methods then the last." Yoruichi commented before looking ahead of them and saw the gate way to the Soul Society. "Hurry! We're almost there."

They all listened and in a final attempted put all their strength into their feet and ran for the door. They wanted to be out of this tunnel and get into a safe place, even if they had to fight an army when they arrived. Everyone figured that would be better then being chased down by a giant cleaning machine. The door way was in front of them and they all jumped through, happiness overcoming them all when they saw the blue sky of the Soul Society.

Ichigo opened his eyes when he felt the gentle wind hitting his face, he was happy when he knew that he was out danger. He stole a quick look down at the ground and frowned when he saw that there was nothing under his feet. "Ahh! We're gonna die!" Then fear came next as they started to fall from the sky.

"Way of Binding No.37: Suspending Star!" Momo had both her hands out, focusing her reiatsu and sending out a giant ball of kidou. Although it had been years for her since she was last fought, she was still a master of kidou so even a few years of not training wouldn't hurt her.

Suddenly the deadly fall wasn't there; instead they all landed on a bright blue star-shaped net made of Kidou. Sighs of relief could be heard from them all, each one was glad that it was over and for a moment they could relax and not worry about being killed. Jumping off the giant net and onto safe and solid ground, everyone thanked Momo for saving them.

"Mom that was amazing!" Akane jumped up and hugged her mother. She didn't know she could do that and wanted to learn the spell as well. Like her mother, she too had a talent for kidou and was always ready to learn a new trick.

"Man, we owe you one, Momo." Renji commented, slinging one arm around her shoulder in a hugging way. "I'd almost forgotten how skilled you are in the demon arts. For a minute I thought you had lost all your powers but I know now that I was wrong." He smiled down at her.

"Thanks…" Momo smiled back. "I think?" She wasn't sure if that was compliment or an insult.

"Where are we anyways?" Ichigo questioned looking at their surroundings. Tall white walls were all that could be seen for what seemed liked miles but the entire area seemed abandoned.

"We are in the Seireitei." Yoruichi jumped off the net and landed on the floor in one giant poof. In a flash she was standing in her human form, naked as always.

"Damn it, Yoruichi!" Ichigo covered his eyes, as well as Akane's eyes. He cared for the young girl and didn't want her exposed to any indecent at such a young age. Renji was copying him, not that he could see, and had his own eyes covered with one hand and used his other to cover Momo's. Usually Yoruichi was in human form or stayed in cat form around Momo, something about her seeming to innocent for her, so Renji didn't feel like having to carry a passed out Momo on his back all day.

"Why do you always do this?" Ichigo cried out, panicking how they would have to walk through the Seireitei with a butt naked Yoruichi. That was one way to make a grand entrance after not seeing old friends for over sixteen years and an even better way of introducing a long lost daughter. Yeah, cause a naked Yoruichi would make that so much easier. _"This is gonna suck so much." _He thought, already thinking of what they would probably go through introducing Akane to her father.

"Relax Ichigo, I'm covered up. You can open your eyes now." Yoruichi taunted him as she finished tying her hair up into a high ponytail. She wore a long tight black sleeved shirt with an open orange vest, black tights with a white sash around her waist, and knee length white boots.

"When did you pack clothes?" Rukia questioned, she didn't seem the woman bring anything with her when they entered the portal.

Yoruichi gave them a bright smile and held up a dark blue bag. "I packed everything in this."

"Yoruichi," Akane looked over the bag and raised her eyebrows in confusion. "When did you take my school bag?" It was the same bag she had with her everyday at school, she recognized it immediately.

Yoruichi looked at the bag and shrugged. "Oh? Is this yours? Sorry, I just grabbed whatever I could before leaving." She tossed it back to Akane and turned away from the group. Her eyes looked up into the open sky above them and her arms were crossed. Something didn't seem right to her, the way they entered the Seireitei was to easy and too calm.

Akane watched the older woman and sighed, having already been used to the crazy antics of the Flash Goddess she put on her schoolbag and placed Huang-Long inside the small bag. It was easier to carry around on her back then on her waist, the sword was bigger then her so this would make fighting and running easier on her body. Though she was hoping that she wouldn't have to fight anybody. Her mother and everyone else told her about the laws and rules in the Seireitei and knew that after she meet with the Thirteen Squads and Center 46 she would have to demonstrate her powers to show what squad she belonged in.

Too bad she didn't know what her powers were yet. While she was a master in Kidou like her mother she could also freeze objects like her father. It was nowhere near the power that her mother had described to her, in fact without adding extra reiatsu the ice she could at most only freeze over was a door. It was strange, she possessed her father's intense spiritual pressure but not the same powers as him. She found out as a child she was more of a master with fire instead of ice, having burned down quite a few Christmas trees in her childhood. Akane wondered what squad she would be placed in, after she had time to practice with her new acquired Zanpakuto. Maybe she would get placed into her mother's old squad, or even Renji's, or maybe even her father's?

Her heart beat with anticipation as she thought about meeting her father and being in the same squad as him. She was really here, in the Seireitei, the place where her father has been living for all this time. _"This is it. I'm not dreaming, I'm finally going to meet my father." _She placed a hand over her beating her, trying to calm down her nerves as she thought over what she would say when she finally got to talk with him.

"Oh no!" Akane looked down at her hand that was over her heart, she was still nervous about this, but noticed something was missing. "The bracelet is gone!" Her wrist was bare, showing no signs of having the bracelet she's had since birth. The very same bracelet that suppressed her powers and stopped her from releasing it unknowing and hurting those around her. Franticly she searched the ground around her. "Where did it go and when?" her mind flashed back to when Ami attacked her.

"_Could it have come off then?" _She wondered briefly, even now she was still confused about Ami. Not once did she ever sense any type of spiritual pressure from her, no one else did either and that's what scared her. How could somebody hide their power and who they really were without revealing it even once? _"There must be something that I'm missing."_

"Forget about it." Yoruichi brought her thoughts away from Ami. "You won't need that thing here. In the Seireitei your powers may still be immune and possibly incomplete but they will also be stable. This very place is filled with so much reiatsu that it allows those Soul Reapers with intense powers to keep them under control until they receive proper training." She gave the young and somewhat frighten girl a gentle reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry, you're in a very safe place with many powerful shinigami so you don't have to worry about hurting anybody." With that said she looked back up at the sky and smiled again.

"Well look at what we have here," In a flash they were stopped by a man dropping down in front of them, a Captain's cloak on his body. Short sliver hair on his head and a giant grin on his face. "It would seem that some old friends from the past decided to pay us a visit." Gin Ichimaru smiled at the group, one hand lying lazily on the hilt of his sword.

"Ichimaru…" Renji has his Zanpakuto ready and aimed at the man. "You're a dead man for showing yourself so calmly in front of us. I don't know why you're in the Seireitei or why you're wearing a Captain's cloak, but what I do know is that you're gong down!" He charged at him, the intent to kill in his eyes as he aimed to chop the man's head off.

"Renji wait!" Ichigo tackled him to the ground before he could do so. "He's not our enemy, he's a good guy."

"What the hell are you talking about Ichigo?" Rukia came up behind him and kicked him off of Renji. "This traitor tried to have us all killed, he works with Aizen!" She pointed and accusing finger at the smiling man.

"No he doesn't." Ichigo crossed his arms and stepped in front of Gin. He didn't want any of them attacking him again without them hearing his story.

"Just what is wrong with that stupid orange head of yours?" Renji was back up and ready to take down both Ichimaru and Ichigo. "You saw him, alone with Aizen and Tousen betrayed us and tried to have us all killed during the Winter War. Why are you defending a guy like him?" It was hard trying to control himself but Renji was doing so, Zabimaru was in his hand growling at him to attack and it was hard not to listen to his Zanpakuto. He could see that Rukia had her hand on he own sword and Momo as well, however Yoruichi was standing off to side and seemed awfully calm about the whole situation.

"Look, just let me explain." Ichigo got them to listen to his story about what took place in the war, how Gin had never really betrayed them and how he nearly died trying to stop Aizen. He explained to them that he was never their enemy but was actually working on their side all along.

"You dumbass!" Rukia and Renji smacked Ichigo in the head with their swords.

"What was that for?" Ichigo held his head in pain, yelling back as his so-called friends.

"Why the hell did you never tell us that?" Renji yelled right back.

"Well we had other stuff to focus on so it just slipped my mind!" Ichigo was still yelling.

"How can something as important as that slip someone's mind?" Rukia yelled and hit him again.

"Well sorry if I was busy focusing on helping Momo raise her daughter!" Ichigo yelled back, his hand itching for him to hit them both with his own sword.

"Her daughter?" The yelling died down with Ichimaru spoke up. His fox like eyes looked forward and saw the young girl, or now woman, that used to be the Fifth Division's Lieutant and saw a young teenaged girl that was like a mini replica of her standing behind her. He walked towards them, soft and slow steps were taken before he was in front of the young teenaged girl. "So yer Momo's daughter?" He looked her over from head to toe.

Akane gulped and gave him a slow nod. Her mother had told her that this was a man that had betrayed the Seireitei and was working with her ex-captain Aizen but now she just learned that he was actually a good guy. She believed in and trusted Ichigo with her life but that didn't mean that she wasn't carefully around people, especially ones that gave her a weird feeling.

Gin Ichimaru always wore a smile on his face; it was a rare sight to see him frown or any other reaction on his face. Even now his smile was growing more and more as he looked at Akane. With his arms raised he moved in for his attack. "You're so cute!" He had his arms wrapped around her in a big hug and was petting her head. "Momo, why didn't ya tell me that we had such a cute daughter?"

Akane was still for a moment, taking in the words that this man had said to her and her mother before regaining control over her thoughts and body. In a flash she raised her hand and punched Gin across the cheek and knocked him off her, sending him flying back next to Ichigo and Renji. "You are not my father so don't say such weird things!" She glared at him, arms crossed as she scoffed at the man. She couldn't believe he would say such a lie and hug her like that! She finally understood that weird feeling he gave her, it was complete and total annoyance.

"Ow!" Gin rubbed his now red cheek and pretended to cry. "Well ya didn't hafta hit me so hard, ya know?" He gave a slight frown before standing back up and smiled once again. "But then again that's what I expect from Captain Hitsugaya's daughter." He grin became wider when he saw their shocked faces.

"How can you tell?" Momo asked him, hope in her eyes. If he could tell that Akane was Toshiro's daughter then perhaps Toshiro himself would know as well.

"Well it's pretty obvious," He ran one hand through his hair before pointing at Akane. "Same eyes, scowl, power, and scary when angry, those are all the same characteristics that Hitsugaya himself has."

"Really?" Akane blushed, she felt happy that he was comparing her to her father. While her mother would often do the same, if felt nice hearing it from someone outside her family.

"Well now that that's done," He spun around and began to walk ahead. "Let's get moving, shall we?" He motioned for them to all follow him.

"Good idea." Renji agreed with him, it felt good to have someone guide them through their new surroundings. He knew the old Seireitei like the back of his hand but he wasn't quite sure about this new one and he didn't feel like being lost and getting into pointless fights.

"So tell us," Ichigo went to walk next to the man. "What's changed since the last time we were all here?" It was the same question that was in all their minds, each one wanted to know what had changed since the Winter War. What changed, what stayed the same, and what things that could remind them of what their old home and life used to be like.

"Many things," Gin started his tale. "We got some new Captains and Lieutenants for ya all and some new rules involving the Hollows." He had his hands inside his sleeves as he spoke. "New Captain and Lieutenant for Squad five and we had a new Lieutenant for Squad Six but he didn't last long."

"Did he die?" Renji asked, wondering if something drastic changed in his old Division.

"Nope, he transferred to Squad four." Gin had a light tone in his voice, almost like he was laughing. "It would seem that Captain Kuchiki scared the poor boy so much that he didn't even wait for the paperwork to be finished and is hiding inside the Squad Four barracks until its official."

"Really…?" Renji wondered if he should be grateful or not that his old job was open. He was used to his old Captain and he didn't get scared by the man anymore, but times can change a person in many ways. He only hoped the Captain wouldn't make him do anything drastic or life threatening when he returned.

"Yep." Gin was walking ahead of them all, almost like he was rushing them. "Anything else?"

"Squad Five," Momo spoke up for the first time. "You said a new Captain and Lieutenant took over?" She wanted to know who was controlling her old Division now. If she needed to fight for her old job back or let them be and enjoy her new life with Toshiro as a loving and caring housewife?

"Hmm…Squad Five?" Gin had one hand on his chin, like he was in deep thought. "Well they are…if I had to put them into words then I guess I would describe 'em as…part poopers!" He cheered and everyone sweat dropped. One thing they forget about, Gin Ichimaru was a weirdo and it seemed that never changed. "They're no fun, always so serious." He pouted, showing his distaste for the Squad Five commanders.

"You fool…" Renji whispered in the wind.

"I'm serious!" Gin heard him. "They never wanna do nothing and I can never play with 'em. The Lieutenant is always acting like a stiff old lady, talking all formal and everything and the Captain doesn't even talk. He ignores everyone around him and locks himself in his office all day, he's worse then the Captain of Squad Ten."

"Squad Ten?" Momo gulped when she him mention that squad. "Captain Ichimaru…" She tried to find her voice, wanting to ask a question that was plaguing her mind since she was first told that she was stuck in the World of the Living. "Tell me…is Toshiro, I mean Captain Hitsugaya…is he…well…"

Gin stopped walking and patted Momo on the head. "He's missed ya, Momo." He smiled again, this time it wasn't to scare anyone. "He'll be happy when he see that ya alive…" He let his hand moved from Momo to Akane, "And he'll be happy when I introduce him to our daughter!" His old cunning smile was back on and like last time Akane punched him across the face and sent him flying.

"I thought I told you to shut up about that?" She screamed at the man she deemed to be very stupid and seemed almost like a very annoying and obnoxious child in her mind.

"Ow! You're a meanie!" He pouted, hand back on his cheek as he walked head of the group.

"Shut up." Akane growled, arms crossed as she glared at the back of him. Her thoughts screaming and praying that she wouldn't end up in his squad, if that happened she'd probably run back to the World of the Living and seal the portal herself so she wouldn't have to deal with him.

"So much like her father…" Ichimaru whispered to himself, his tone so soft that no one had heard his last comment.

"Hold on a minute," Ichigo stopped them once they were out in the open, he recognized the spot. It was the same spot that he and Renji had their fight at when he came into this world to rescue Rukia. "Why isn't there anyone around? You found us because you sensed our power so how come no one else came with you?" It's been bothering him since Ichimaru arrived, why was there no other Captains or any other Soul Reapers coming after them? The last time he broke into the Seireitei he was instantly attacked by Ikkau and Yumichika.

Gin stopped walking and turned around to face them, a smile was not present on his face. "Three years ago, there were sighting of Hollows attacking inside the Seireitei and when squads were sent to investigate and kill them, all squads reported that they were attacked by Momo Hinamori, Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki, and Ichigo Kurosaki." They held their breathes when they were told this information, hearing a story like this was unreal to them.

"What do you mean? Just what are you talking about?" Renji wasn't liking where this was going. "We've been stuck in the World of the Living for years now! So how could they think that we would attack the Soul Society?"

Gin was quiet for a moment; he would let Renji yell and vent before he continued with his story. "They didn't…or rather Hitsugaya didn't." His eyes landed on Momo for a moment, he saw her body become stiff and her eyes became glazed over with confusion but also with realization. "He saw first that they were merely copies made from the Hollows and Arrancar that were stuck in this world. Most of them were killed but there are still a few that pretend to be you and attack when they can."

"So what do these fakes have to do with us?" Renji questioned, arms crossed but his hand was twitching to hold Zabimaru. He sudden got a very bad feeling about this story.

Ichimaru was silent, the wind blew by making his hair fly up and for a moment he opened his eyes and stared at Akane. "If any of you are found by the Thirteen Captains then you will be killed on the spot." He disappeared for a moment before, having used Shunpo, and threw Akane over his shoulder. "I have to wish you all good luck for now." With a small wave he was gone, Akane with him.

"Akane!" Momo ran after her daughter but Renji stopped her from using her own Shunpo. "Let me go! I have to…!"

Renji spun her around to face him, a look of seriousness on his face. "Calm down," He looked around him before taking out his Zanpakuto. "Ichigo."

"Yeah, I know." In a flash they were surrounded by hundreds of Shinigami, all of them pointing their swords at them. "Looks like he wasn't kidding, they all want to kill us." Ichigo was ready, waiting for the right moment to attack and clear their way.

"Looks like this won't be as easy as we hoped." Renji commented, Zabimaru already roaring to attack. "Momo," He knew she wasn't paying attention, her main focus was on her daughter but he needed her to pay attention to the hundreds of soldiers that wanted them dead. "Don't worry, I'm sure Akane will be alright. Ichimaru may have been a bad guy before but I'm positive that we can trust him. He won't do anything to her."

"Renji…"Momo slowly turned back to face him. "Thank you." She smiled as she released Tobiume from its sheath, already aiming at the Shinigami that stood before her.

"Let's move!" Ichigo was the first to attack, taking down more then ten of the unknown Shinigami. He and his friends charged to attack, each one fighting to prove that they were not some fakes but they were the real ones.

"Ichigo!" Yoruichi jumped onto one of the buildings. "I'm going on ahead. There's something I want to check out." She pointed to where she was going and flash stepped off before anyone could even blink.

"Whatever, it's not like anything horrible is coming." Ichigo suddenly regretted saying that. In an instant he felt it, the intense and uncontrollable spiritual pressure, the desire to fight and kill was screaming from it. "Oh shit!" He ran from the fight, grabbing Rukia by her waist and carrying her like a giant sack of potatoes.

"Ichigo? Where the hell are you going? Are you running away?" Renji couldn't believe his eyes, he never once saw Ichigo run from a battle.

"You bet your ass I am. There's no way I'm staying here and fighting that maniac!" Ichigo screamed back, he was already onto of the roof and readying like hell.

"Maniac?" Both and Renji and Momo were confused, who was he talking about. Suddenly the wind became heavy, the ground seemed to start screaming, and even the remaining Shinigami ran away in fear when they felt this power.

Kenpachi Zaraki was coming.

Momo and Renji looked at each other for a brief moment before flash stepping away as well, wanting to get as far away as possible before the crazy Captain of Squad eleven showed up. No one in their right mind would ever want to fight him, not unless they had a death wish and wanted their life to end very quickly.

* * *

"Let me go!" Akane cried as she once again tried to break free from Ichimaru's grip. She couldn't just leave her mother and friends alone to fight off so many enemies. Even if she didn't have all the training and experiences that they did, she could still fight and she would! "I need to help them."

"All you need to do actually is be a good little girl and keep quite." Gin spoke in a light tone; he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. "You'd better keep it down or else someone is going to hear you." He warned her putting more speed into his Shunpo when he felt her trying to break free from his grip.

"Good, let them come. I'm not scared!" She tried again and again to break free but it wasn't working. They were moving to fast for her to get a good grip.

"Now be a good girl Akane and listen to your father." Gin joked again with her, he was going to have a lot of fun when things finally settled down and maybe even before they did.

Now Akane was really made. "You are not…My Father!" With amazing strength and speed she jumped out of his grip and did a spin in the air and kicked Ichimaru behind the head and sent him flying once again. Her landing was calm and quiet but her eyes were screaming with anger. "Stop saying you're my father because you're not. My real father is no one else but Toshiro Hitsugaya!" She cried out, already her Reiatsu leaking out and destroying her surroundings.

Ichimaru watched as she let out her power and was already feeling others move towards them. "Now that's…" In a flash he was in front of her and poked her forehead, stopping her from releasing more of her power. "Enough."

Akane was silent; he got near her and made her powers stop without so much as blinking. He did it so easily too, like her powers were nothing more then a little kid's crying. "How…?"

"It's cause I'm your father!" He smiled again, going back to the same joke.

Raising her fist, Akane went to punch him in the chest but was stopped by Gin's hand. "Huh?" She didn't see him move, not once did she see his hand move from his side to her wrist. He was so fast and so powerful, she could tell that he was holding back even now just by her having him hold her wrist. _"So this is a Captain. Mom told me they were incredible but it looks like they're so much more then that." _

"Now then," Gin let go of her wrist and was pushing her along the top of the roof. "I don't want to rush you or anything, but we need to get out of here before anybody shows up and tries to fight us. It'll be a real mess if that does happen." He told her, already jumping to the next roof. This time he was going slower so that she could keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" Akane ran after him, going as fast as she could. She knew how to use Shunpo, having learned it as a child, but even after knowing it for more then half her life she was having trouble keeping up with Ichimaru.

"We are going to the Fourth Division." Gin told her, slowing down some more, he didn't need her falling behind him.

"Why?" Akane knew about every Division and what they did. Her mother told her everything about the Seireitei from when she used to live there and she knew that the Fourth Division was for those who were injured. But she didn't even fight anyone so why would he take her there?

"Because…" He paused for a moment, slowly turning back around and knocked out to Shinigami that were trying to sneak up on them. "We are going to see Unohana to have her prove that you are indeed Hitsugaya's daughter." He got in front of Akane again and made her get on his back before taking off again, this time at full speed. "It'll take more then words to convince Central 46 and it'll help makes this that much easier when you two meet face to face." He explained to her and received a short nod as his reply.

His plan made sense, Akane didn't want to admit it since he annoyed her so much, but he was speaking the truth. They were going to need proof that she was indeed Hitsugaya's daughter and that she, her mother, and friends were not some Hollows in disguise. Even though she was so close to finally meeting her father, she still has so many steps that she needed to take before she could finally reach him.


	4. Chapter 4

Akane was having a hard time not screaming when they reached the Fourth Division, the plan that Gin Ichimaru came up with was a really annoying one. The two of them were hidden inside of a bush, Akane still on his back like he was giving her a piggyback ride. He said it was father/daughter time and she punched him in the head for that before they jumped out of the bush and onto the roof of the building. Slowly he slid down to the edge of the roof and jumped down into the empty courtyard of the Division before flash stepping throughout the rest of Squad Four. They were in Unohana's office at this point, hiding their reiatsu from anyone that passed by and avoided the windows so no one could see them. It wasn't necessarily a bad plan, Akane considered it to be a success consider how short amount of time he used to plan it, but she was going to go crazy just sitting there.

"Where is she?" She asked out in nothing more then a whisper. She was sitting down on one of the empty chairs in the room, arms crossed as she stared at the door. "We've been in here for more then two hours, are you even sure she's in the Seireitei?" Her body was stiff from sitting so long and her mind wasn't helping calm her down. She couldn't stop worrying about her mom and friends, she was worried that they may have been captured or hurt by all those Shinigami that attacked them.

"Relax," Ichimaru was lying down on the light green couch that was in her office, hands behind his head and that fox grin still on his face. "She'll be in here very soon, it's not very often that Unohana ever leaves the Seireitei. So be a good little girl and sit quietly or else somebody is gonna here your voice." He wagged his finger at her, as if he was trying to scold a crying child for being a brat.

It was tempting to pick up the chair she was sitting in and throw it at him stupid smiling face, very tempting for Akane. _"Just keep calm…this stupid fool is going to help you meet dad so don't kill him. Tolerate him until you and dad meet and then you can hurt him." _She told herself, taking deep calming breathes as she went back to watching the door. Her mother would often tell her as a child that she had the same temper as her father had, having no tolerances for anybody that he considered annoying. So Akane wondered if this Gin Ichimaru was also somebody that her father got easily annoyed at.

"Captain Ichimaru," Her voice was soft, almost as if she was unsure about asking her question. "Can you tell me about my father?" She was nervous about what he might say. He could say things like her father was totally different then how her mother had described him, or that he had become an alcoholic or he was very violent or even…that he had moved on and already had his own family? Her body jumped in her seat at that thought and she was trying to force herself to let those thoughts go and calm down.

"Your father…?" He was answering her; his mind was wandering as if he was searching for the proper answer that he could give her. "Is me!" He went back to that stupid joke and Akane almost fell out of her chair for how stupid, and annoying, this man was. "I'm your daddy so ask me everything that you want sweetie!" He gave a cheeky grin.

Akane glared at the smiling fox man and sighed, having had enough of his stupid jokes. "Shut up." Arms crossed, scowl on her face, and eyes glaring a hole in the door. She was mentally calling out for Unohana to hurry up and come to she wouldn't have to spend another minute alone with this man.

"Ah, you have a temper I see," She couldn't see it but she was sure that he was giving her his stupid smile again. "You really are Hitsugaya's child. Only someone born form him could scowl as much as you do at such a young age." His voice was light but his words were speaking volumes to Akane. He was doing it, he was telling her what her father was like. "Yes, Hitsugaya does scowl a lot, even more now than he used to do, so..."

"Why?" She wondered why he cut himself off there.

Ichimaru looked to the young girl that was staring at him with wide questioning eyes. "Your papa misses your mama a lot." He sat up from his spot on the couch and waved his hand towards the door. "Hello!"

"Captain Ichimaru," Akane jumped in her chair at the woman's soft voice and quickly turned back around to face the woman that had quietly come into the room. She was a very pretty woman; hair braided out in the front of her body and was almost reached the floor, blue eyes and a gentle smile made up her face. "Is there any reason why you are in my office?" Her eyes landed on Akane. "Who are you?"

"Oh…!" Akane got up from her seat and bowed to the woman in greeting her. "I'm Akane Hitsugaya. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Akane Hitsugaya?" Her voice was quiet and Akane worried that she might call for someone to attack them but her fears left her when she felt the woman run her hand through her hair. "It is nice to meet you as well, Akane."

Akane was shocked by how kindly she greeted her and how she seemed to instantly believe that she was who she was and didn't think she was just some fake copy. "You mean you believe me?"

"Of course," Unohana only returned her another smile and went to sit down at her desk. "You look very much both your mother and father that I was very surprised when I first saw you."

"You know my parents?" Akane's heart skipped a beat when this woman told her this. She knew who her parents were and knew how they must have been before they were separated. "Can you tell me about my father then?" She quickly grabbed her chair from before and moved it right next to Unohana's desk for the story that she might receive.

"Before we do that," Ichimaru was already up and moving to stand behind Akane. 'I need ya to do a few things first Unohana. One of them being to prove that Akane is indeed Hitsugaya's child and the other…"

"To prove that the Momo Hinamori who came with this child is the real one and not some counterpart that many of the other Captains have been fighting?" It was like she knew exactly what he was going to say before he even said it.

"Exactly!" Ichimaru grinned again before moving towards the door. "I'll leave everything in your capable hands. I have a few other important matters that I must take care of." With a small wave he was out the door and humming lightly down the hallways.

"Good riddance." Akane gave a sigh of relief and it felt like a giant weight was lifted off her shoulders when the grinning man finally left.

Unohana's gave a soft laugh and smiled. "You are so much like Captain Hitsugaya. Perhaps I am not as needed as Captain Ichimaru believes."

"I wouldn't say that," Actually Akane was pretty sure without proof this Soul Society wouldn't believe a word we said. She bet if given the chance they would kill them all with one strike. "We need your help." without this woman's help she would never meet my father and may lose her mother as well.

"I will help you." Unohana did not hesitate, she would help.

"Thank you." Akane felt with Unohana's help they could accomplish a lot more than they would have on their own.

"It is my pleasure," she gave her a gentle smile before reaching into her desk and pulling out the items she would need to prove the truth. "Now then, please hold out your arm and remain still." in her hand was a giant pointy needle that looked like it belonged in a horror film.

Akane froze in her seat, literally she froze the entire chair over in ice, and shivered when she saw the pointy object being directed at her. She had a slight fear of needles. "Isn't there another way?" she gulped, pleading to every force out there that there was.

"There is but those would take too long and we are short on time," Unohana grabbed her shaking arm and held tight. "Now just relax and hold still."

By the end of it all Unohana had half a frozen wall and a half burning one.

"I am so sorry." Akane held her head down in shame. She could not believe that she just did that. She was so embarrassed.

"It is quite alright," Unohana didn't seemed fazed in the least. "I have seen much worse in my years. But I will say I have never once seen someone use the power of both fire and ice." with some help of her Kidou she was able to put out the fire and melt the ice off the white walls.

_"I sometimes hate my powers." _Akane sighed, thinking over the times her emotions got the better of her and resulted with her powers going crazy. "Yeah, well," she played with her hair, twirling it around her pale finger. "I'm told I have both powers of fire and ice because of my Zanpakuto and my father's spiritual powers mixing with my mothers." she had been told the story of how her parents conceived her and no matter how many times she heard it the whole thing still seemed impossible. Both her parents had been dying, holding each other as they waited for death to come and that resulted in them creating a world of their own with their combined powers and in that world they made her. _"It sounds like something out of one of mom's books." _ in fact she was sure her mother had written a story with that exact same plot line.

"Well that certainly explains a lot," Unohana walked over to her desk, taking out a notepad and writing down something Akane couldn't see. "I was there the day your parents separated. I watched as Captain Hitsugaya broke down over the loss of Hinamori. He wanted desperately to cover her body so he could give her a proper burial but when he was told there was no time he insisted on remaining in the human world. "

"Really?" Akane had never heard this before. Ichigo had explained he had been upset but he had never gone into too much details about what happened as her mother was buried under the derby. "But my mother, and everyone else, were alive."

"We know that now but at the time it was believed that everyone had died and Hitsugaya was not going to abandon your mother," she ripped off the paper from the pad and gave her a sad smile. "I understood his reasons for remaining in the world of the living but our world had just finished with a war and we needed every Shinigami we had. Hitsugaya was knocked out and taken back to the Soul Society with the rest of us and it was around then that you were born."

"My father...he really loved my mother." Akane knew her mother loved her father but she was never certain of his feelings. Her mother had explained that he was not someone who was one to easily express his emotions but she had told her that she knew deep in her heart that he loved her the same way she loved him.

"He still does," Unohana handed her the paper and on it was an address and directions. "I cannot stay here, I have to look after my squad but I am worried about leaving you alone with these fakes running around."

"You think they'll attack me?" Akane already had a feeling of the answer and would take them on if they did want a fight.

"I wouldn't doubt it," she gestured for her to follow and Akane did. "Just follow those directions and it will take you to someone I know who will help you," she pushed open the giant doors of the office and walked out. "No one is around right now, they are all out chasing your friends but I would hurry all the same."

"Thank you." Akane bowed, showing her thanks and took off in a run. She would go to wherever this piece of paper lead her and meet the person that was supposed to help her. _"Mom...everyone...I hope you're all alright." _

* * *

The cries Ichigo made could be heard all over the Soul Society but no other Soul Reaper was chasing after him. They all knew the Captain of Squad Eleven was hot on his trail and no one wanted to deal with a crazed Zaraki.

"Damn it, put me down already!" Rukia shouted for the hundredth time. She was getting tired of being carried like a sack of potatoes and having the blood rush to her head.

"Not until we're free of this psycho!" Ichigo didn't care if he sounded like a coward or a baby. He made a vow that he would never again fight Captain Zaraki and he was going to keep that promise. The man scared the hell out of him and he didn't want to have to deal with him like last time.

"Um...Ichigo?" Rukia tapped his shoulder and with a pale hand pointed upward at a giant shadow that was getting closer and closer to them.

"Oh shit!" Too late did he realize that it was the man he was running away from.

The ground shook when he landed and Ichigo and Rukia jumped back, Rukia finally getting back on her own two feet. There was a giant crater in the ground and a screen of smoke surrounding the area, but even the thickest smoke couldn't hide the menacing laughter that came from the center of the thick screen. "I found you." when the smoke cleared it revealed a grinning Zaraki, looking as scary and insane as ever. He hadn't changed that much over the years, the only real difference was his hair was bigger and his eye patch was on the left eye now.

"Oh man," Ichigo gulped, holding out his sword in front of him. "I really don't feel like fighting this guy right now." if he remembered anything from his last fight with Zaraki it was that it left him drained and a body that was ready to break. He ran from him because he wanted to save his power for the real fight, the one with the fakes that were pretending to be them.

"It doesn't look like we have much choice anymore." Rukia held her hand on the hilt of her sword. She would help him fight, hopefully they could find an opening and escape before any real damage was done.

"Well we finally meet again, Ichigo." Zaraki was grinning like a mad man, his one eye staring down at the orange-haired male in front of him.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, his grip on his sword shifting. "Wait, you know it's me? The real me?" he thought everyone believed he was some fake.

"Of course we know it's you Ichi," and like that Yachiru was sitting on her captain's shoulder and smiling like always. "We recognize your spiritual pressure anywhere!" she happily replied, her bubbly personality coming out. She hasn't changed as much either, she appeared to have grown some but not a lot and her hair seemed longer, one side being held back but a red hair clip.

Zaraki grunted and stood tale as ever. "The fakes that have been running around her lately have nowhere near the power you have so it's easy to defeat them and no fun at all," he walked towards the two souls that no one has seen in over seventeen years. "None of them could make battling as fun as when I fought you."

Ichigo paled, unconsciously taking a step back.

"Se these fakes," Rukia intervened before this went off topic. "Can you tell us anything about them?"

Zaraki only shrugged his shoulders. "Not much, only that they appear when they want to and are easy enough to kill. A newbie could defeat these guys and it's such a bore I don't bother chasing after them," he got another crazed look on his face. "But then I sensed your Reiatsu and I knew the real you had finally returned." he added with glee.

_"Great." _Ichigo cursed his luck.

"So these copies, they appear no matter how many times they are defeated?" To Rukia that sounded strange. If you knew the enemy was stronger than you than why bother coming back and doing the same thing over again?

"That's what they do." Yachiru answered.

"That's strange," Rukia pondered over this new information. "I wonder what their goal could be?"  
"Who knows," it was obvious that Zaraki didn't care. "All I know is that everyone around here has had enough of them and wants them all dead and gone." he picked at his ear, bored of this annoying talk.

"I see..." Rukia was starting to put the pieces together of this puzzle. She needed to learn more about these fakes and what they have been doing before she can come up with any real explanation.

"Whatever, I could really care less," he swung his swore, making Ichigo cry out and jump away. "I just want to fight. I've been waiting forever to fight someone who can push me and Ichigo you're the one I've been waiting for."

"Hell no!" Ichigo jumped to his feet. "I can't fight you right now. We gotta find Renji and Momo and Akane."

"Who's Akane?" Yachiru and Zaraki recognized the first two names but not the last.

"Momo's daughter." Ichigo answered without thinking and Rukia hit him over the head.

"She had a kid?" Zaraki seemed to pick up some interest.

"It's a long story," Rukia sighed and started to walk past them. " We need to get moving and find the others before anyone else does." she continued to walk away and Ichigo followed, along with the two squad eleven members. They weren't going to leave them alone now that they found them.

* * *

Akane held her breath when she heard the rushing footsteps pass her. She quickly hide in another room, praying no one saw her as a group of Soul Reapers ran down the hall and right past here. "Safe," she sighed with relief, opening the door to check that the cost was clear. "Now to find this place." she didn't know where she was, it was a big building with lots of people running around inside and she felt so lost it couldn't even be considered funny. Unohana had given her directions that took her through the sewer, bushes, and a secret passage of this building and so far she was not having fun. "This had better be worth it." she looked down at the paper and saw it said to look for a door that had what looked like a giant cross but she knew it wasn't that. It was a symbol but she had no clue what it meant. "Well, might as well get it over with." she pushed open the door and waited to see what would happen next.

"Captain! I wasn't sleeping!" she had been expecting to be attacked or find a room full of people, not a woman with strawberry blonde hair and a big chest to jump off the couch that she had been obviously sleeping on and scream that she wasn't. "Huh? You're not the Captain?" she put her hands on her hips and looked over Akane.

"No, I'm not." Akane shut the door and walked in closer to the woman. She seemed harmless. "My name is Akane and I was sent here by Captain Unohana. She said there would be a person that could help me and they would be here."

The blonde merely raised a thin eyebrow. "Unohana sent you? That's strange, she knows I'm the only here during this time so she must have meant me," she made her way towards Akane, her hips swaying the whole way. "So what can I do for you?" she questioned before staring down at her, bright blue eyes looking over her small body. "Do I know you?" she pulled at her dark plum hair and stared into her teal eyes. "You remind me of someone, or should I say someones."

"Um...?" Akane wasn't sure how to reply. This woman was invading her personal space and she wasn't sure if she should tell people the truth. She couldn't be sure how they would react and if things went south it could end badly for her and her loved ones. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The woman finally moved back, her hands still on her hips. "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto."

Akane felt her heart stop. "You're Rangiku...the Lieutenant of Squad Ten. The Squad under command of Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya." she couldn't believe it, she was in the same building as her father. She was in his office, talking to his Lieutenant, and was so close to finally meeting him. "Where is he? Can I see him? What's he like? Please, you have to let me see him!" she pleaded, not caring how stupid or desperate she may have seen. She wanted to meet her father so badly and nothing was going to stop her.

"Whoa, now calm down," Rangiku put her hands on her shoulders, calming her down and putting a stop to the million questions. "Now you have to me, who are you and why do you want to meet the Captain so badly?" she gave her a gentle smile, pushing some of her dark plum hair out of her eyes.

Akane sighed, "My name is Akane Hitsugaya and Toshiro Hitsugaya is my father."

Rangiku was silent, her blue eyes widening in shock at what she had just been told. "That's great!" not long after she erupted in a fit of squeal and giggles and spun Akane around the room until she was to dizzy to stop her. "I knew I recognized you. You have the same eyes as him and if I had to guess your mother is none other than Momo Hinamori!"

Akane couldn't do anything more than nod her head as she tried to keep her breakfast from reappearing.

"This is so great!" Rangiku hugged her tightly, and despite the lack of air Akane was just glad they weren't spinning anymore. "I knew Hinamori couldn't die. A cute girl like her can't die that easily before she lives a happy life with the man she loves." Rangiku skipped towards a desk in the center of the room and pulled out two giant Sake bottles from the bottom drawer. "This calls for a celebration!"

"But I'm only sixteen!" Akane cried. Sure she was turning seventeen soon but even then she would still be too young to drink. The legal age of drinking was twenty-one and she still had a few years to go before reaching that age.

"So, let's have a little fun. After all we have to celebrate on the Captain becoming a father of such a beautiful young lady." Rangiku giddily replied, tossing her tied up hair over her shoulder and pouring a cup.

"But I'm not allowed to drink." Akane said but her words weren't reaching the Lieutenant. She was too absorbed in her sake. _"Well this isn't helping." _with another sigh Akane sat down on the couch in the room and looked around the room. "Rangiku?" she called over, watching out of the corner of her eye as the first cup of sake was already emptied. "Why isn't my father here?" her mother said he was a workaholic. He could always be seen at his desk working but this time he wasn't.

"Oh, the Captain always leaves around this time." she answered simply, pouring herself another cup.

"Do you know where he goes?" Akane wondered if it was in walking distance. Maybe she could catch him and introduce herself. She had a million things she wanted to say to him and she didn't want to miss her chance at seeing him.

Rangiku finished her second cup and set it down on the desk, her focus turned back on Akane. "He goes to visit your Hinamori's grave." Akane gasped but Rangiku waved her off. "Of course we know that she's not really dead but the Captain still doesn't. Every day at this time he goes to visit her and sits with her for an hour before returning and acting as if nothing happened."

"Why always the same time?" Akane wanted to know more.

Rangiku gave a sad smile. "When it was believed Hinamori had died this was the time of death set for her. So he goes out to visit the grave he set up for her, what he does no one knows. None of us feel like bothering him because we all know how much she means to him," Akane gulped, waiting for the words that followed that sentence. "Captain Hitsugaya really loved Momo, he still does and losing her was very hard for him. Some days we'll get random ice storms because of how bad he's feeling. He misses her so much."

After hearing all that, Akane knew what her next move would be."Rangiku," she knew what she needed to do. "Please help me find my father."

Blue eyes began to sparkle. "Well normally the Captain hates to be disturbed but I think introducing him to his daughter might make him feel better." and just like that they left the office and made their way to where Toshiro Hitsugaya was and Akane's future.


End file.
